Yu-Gi-Oh! EGRESS
by Nocturnus Metaphys
Summary: Yuji Nensho, from Roulette City, aspires to become the best duelist in the world. However, one day as he headed home from Duel Academy, mysterious events led to his ace card, Pyressor Fighter, getting stolen. Guided by an enigmatic man named Seker, Yuji sets off in order to retrieve his monster. Unbeknownst to him, he was about to step into a world he never knew existed.
1. EGRESS

Chapter 1: Welcome to EGRESS

"Gotta hurry it up! I can't miss it dammit!"

A teenage boy exclaimed to himself as he dashed through the bustling streets of Roulette City. His name was Yuji...Yuji Nensho. He was only sixteen years of age, and identical to about every adolescent within his generation, he had aspired to be a duelist. With every step, as his feet pattered along the damp concrete, Yuji would gleefully admire his surroundings. As he passed under bridges, the roaring of a D-Wheel engine would fill his ears. When he raced within the plazas, holographic billboards and advertisements would shine through even the murky skies, showcasing the top duelists around the world, from Heartland to Den, they were the shining pinnacles to reach.

The moment he was dismissed from Duel Academy, he bolted out of the classroom, his fire not even doused by the rain that had fallen from the sky. He wore a black jacket and jeans, with a dark-grey, long-sleeved shirt underneath. On his back was a black backpack which carried his duel disk. Around his waist was a crimson belt that contained a pouch that held his deck. Yuji had brick red eyes and spiked black hair, with orange and grey highlights. It was in what could only be described as in an absurd style.

Yuji needed to head home as fast as possible for a peculiar reason, one that he only made haste for once every year. The Duel Monsters World Championship finals was being broadcasted. He could not miss it, but there was another thing he couldn't afford to miss as well.

"Alright! I'm halfway there...where is the slowpoke at?"

The rain stopped falling. Yuji huffed as he came to a halt in front of the gates of a school campus, specifically Roulette City High School, which unlike Duel Academy had no specialization in Duel Monsters, which was, in Yuji's eyes, pointless. It was always a pain to come by every day, and it was nigh impossible for him to possibly comprehend how someone could attend such a boring institution, which had nothing to do with card games. It was paradoxical. As Yuji cranked his head around, searching for his target, he was startled by a voice he heard from behind.

"...Who are you calling slow, you ticking time-bomb?"

"Ha! It's nice to see you too, Setsuna."

Setsuna Natsume was Yuji's first, and only friend. Meeting early in grade school when Yuji had thought Jerry Beans Man was the strongest card in the game, and subsequently lost every duel he took part in, when he encountered Setsuna for the first time, she took pity on his losing streak against the other kids, which seemed to mysteriously end at the same time with her cheering him on. Despite her apathy to dueling, she still supported Yuji's endeavors, despite seemingly being mostly unenthused by his zeal.

She had long, silky black hair, which came down to her upper back. She had two neon green bangs of hair that hovered over her eyes, as well as two crescent-shaped highlights of the same color on the right and left sides of her hair respectively. She wore a navy blue school vest with white accents and buttons, with a black shirt underneath. Around her waist was a skirt with a blue and green checkered pattern, underneath, she had on black leggings, and on her feet was black dress shoes.

The two began to stroll away from the school gate, walking side by side in tandem.

"It isn't that far between our schools, there was no need to run here so quickly, your drenched." Setsuna hoffed as she turned her head away from Yuji.

Yuji sighed as he slid his hands in his pockets.

"But I showed up didn't I? I don't know why you insisted we meet up specifically today, I already told you before that the Championship is airing tonight! I can't miss it, I need to study the finalists' moves so I can beat them."

Setsuna turned to her friend once more, this time her face was swept with irritation, and she wore somewhat of a slight scowl.

"The championship match is on later , hours from now. The rain also stopped about a minute after school ended. The fact that you forgot an umbrella, but remembered your duel disk, leaving yourself drenched, just to watch some fake monsters blow up on a screen…it's reckless.

"Pfft! As expected from a casual. Also, a little rain can't stop the wrath of Yuji Nensho, the future duel king, and lastly...the monsters aren't fake...they are virtual reality, complex constructs of solid vision, connecting the bridges, the bonds between fantasy and reality on a scale that's beyond anything that you could possibly compre-"

"You know what, forget I said anything Yuji."

Yuji slammed his hand into his face.

"You'd understand if you had given the game a chance, like I've said many times, it's actually kind of weird how you are the only one on the planet who doesn't like it."

"I don't like to follow the herd. Besides...have you even been paying attention to what they teach about Duel Monsters in school? Or do they not teach that at Duel Academy? There have been many times where the game has somehow been involved in strange anomalies and disasters...whether it's a coincidence or not I'd rather stay grounded." Setsuna lowered her head as she began to walk ahead of Yuji.

Stopping in the middle of the street, he glared at Setsuna for a moment, causing her to turn around in confusion.

"You're just mad because you don't look like Dark Magician Girl, aren't you?"

A moment of silence commenced, with Setsuna blanking staring at Yuji as he stood, a boiling anger began to stir, which concluded Yuji running as she chased him down the street in a frenzy.

From the shadows, the two remained unaware as a figure watched them from an alley across the street.

"I think I just found my next target." The figure muttered to himself.

Yuji and Setsuna eventually reached a crossroads, in which they had to go separate ways.

"Alright then, if that's all you wanted to lecture me about then I'll guess I'll head home now. I'll tell you who wins when the match ends tonight."

"I don't want to know!" The girl paused.

"Listen, you may think this another one of my duel monsters disapprovals…but I really think you should…" Setsuna cut herself off as she realized Yuji was already running across the street away from her.

"GET BACK HERE!" She yelled from across the street as Yuji turned around to answer.

"I'll come back when you figure out what pot of greed does!" Yuji exclaimed as he saluted, before breaking into a run as he began to run down the street in the other direction. He did not think to turn around, as he was pretty sure Setsuna was fuming from his last remark.

On his way back home, he had stopped by a local game store, where he had purchased several booster packs, in an attempt to power up his deck. As Yuji exited, he flipped through the cards he bought in disappointment.

"The goddess of luck seems to be holding a grudge against me." Looking up to the sky, gazing at the sun as it peeked through through the clouds, he felt a fury swelling up inside himself, pulsing through his veins, ready to erupt like a volcano.

"If you decided that I can't get rare cards, if you want so desperately for me to not be the best duelist...bring your ass down here, and deck-up so you can get decked-out already!"

His rant over, Yuji knelt to the ground and put his bag on the ground. He took out his duel disk, which was a chromatic red and black. It was a standard duel disk, in terms of design it was outdated, but it was built to be compatible with newer models. Removing his deck from the slot, he swiftly flipped through his cards as replaced some of his deck with the few decent cards he obtained. While shuffling through his deck, a card slipped through his fingers, landing by his feet. He quickly picked up the card, frantically checking to see if it was damaged.

He turned the card over. It was his strongest monster, his ace. Pyressor Fighter. It got him through many challenging duels, it's usefulness varied, almost too situational. To the point where others called it trash. But not to him.

A sigh a relief left Yuji's lungs as his card was still in good condition. Before he could take another action however, he felt a sharp pain in his head.

It wasn't subsiding, it continued like a pulse of agony throughout his body. Jumping to his feet, attempting to seek help, he suddenly realized that he was alone on the streets. No bustling streets, no afternoon commute, not even a critter. He was the only living entity that stood.

"Where...where is everyone?!" Yuji said as he tried to bare the pain that ravaged his body.

At that moment, he heard footsteps from behind. Quickly turning around, he locked eyes with two guys who walked around the corner of the street. They were snickering, seemingly finding amusement in his suffering.

"What the hell are you two giggling at? Does this look funny to you? Did you do this?!" Yuji exclaimed.

"Ha ha! What a chump."

"You stood no chance against the boss's power!"

The two delinquents laughed.

Yuji could feel another presence behind him, but he did not have the strength to turn around, his vision became blurry, and began to lose balance. He immediately collapsed to the ground as he began to blackout, the pain vanishing finally, but now he felt nothing as the darkness took him. As his consciousness faded, he heard an unfamiliar voice speak.

"Take his Gate Card."

As if a guiding light brought him out of his comatose, Yuji sprang up as he awoke. Frantically looking around, he realized he was still alive, as well as in the same place as before. The thugs who surrounded him were gone, leaving him alone once more. As he looked around, he saw his cards scattered across the sidewalk.

"Wait, my cards!" Remembering the words he heard before passing out, he rapidly collected his deck from the earth, making sure he still had all of them. To his surprise, they all remained, except one.

"Pyressor!! Where is it?! No, no, no, where is my ace card, I can't win without it! Damn it!!!"

Stopping his search, he sat defeated on the curb, trying his best to fight back the torrent of tears he felt barricaded behind his eyes.

"You can get it back, you know." Said a voice from behind.

Yuji jumped as he quickly turned to see who stood behind him. It was a man in a white cloak that covered his entire body, along with a hood that covered his eyes.

"Who are you? What do you mean I can get it back?! Tell me right now!" Yuji angrily demanded.

"You can call me Seker. I can bring you to where your card is, but you'll have to accept some terms first."

Yuji furiously scoffed. "What is it, money? I have none, spent it on a Burst Stream booster pack, which took all my pocket change!! If it's a duel or something, you should have showed up ten minutes ago, or however long I was knocked out!"

"You simply need to take this card with you." Seker pulled out a blank card from within his cloak and handed it to Yuji.

"What am I supposed to do with this?!" Yuji said as he looked at the blank card utterly confused.

Seker smirked. "It's a key card. It will let you get into where your card is being held. I already sent the map to your duel disk. If you check it, it will show you where you must go."

"How do you know all this? I'm sorry, but this seems awfully convenient...how do I know your not working with those people?!"

"You have no way of knowing. But if you truly desire that card, do what you must."

In a flash of light Seker vanished, as Yuji shielded his eyes from the radiance. When he opened his eyes once more, he found himself surrounded by people once more. Birds flying, traffic, the bustling streets, it all returned.

Left with no choice, Yuji put on his duel disk and activated it, from the life point gauge, a holographic map emerged, hovering over it. A glowing dot blinked by downtown of Roulette City. Steeling himself for what's to come, he began to sprint towards the location, for a confrontation.

Elsewhere, as Setsuna headed home, he suddenly came to a stop. Noticing that she was the only one in the area for a while, she suspected something sinister was afoot.

She turned around to face a band of thugs standing, all armed with duel disks.

"What do you want?" Setsuna sneered.

"The Gate Card, don't play dumb, hand it over nicely, and things don't have to get messy." One of the lot threatened as he cracked his knuckles.

Setsuna rolled her eyes. "I have no clue what you are talking about. Really, you've got the wrong person. Even if I had what you wanted, I wouldn't give it to you without a fight."

"Oh? Is that so? Then how about a duel? If we win, you'll give us the card...sound fair?"

"..."We" huh?" Sounds fair. Unfortunately for you I don't play Duel Monsters, I don't have a deck, or even a Duel Disk."

One of the gang members pulled out an extra duel disk from their bag and tossed it on the ground, landing in between them and Setsuna. Upon impact with the ground the cards stored into it flew, scattering like sand in the wind.

"Use this disk then...we took it from a weak duelist we took care of earlier, use it and whatever cards you can scrape together from the ground to make a deck, and have a friendly duel against all three of us! You won't be leaving unless you win!"

Appalled by this situation, Setsuna was faced with no choice but to take them on as her opponents. However, despite her predicament, she worried if Yuji had found himself in a similar event.

"Be careful." She mumbled.

Arriving at the location given to him by Seker, Yuji came to a halt in front of a massive warehouse. The entrance was two massive metal doors, as well as a lock that seemingly required you to swipe a card. Remembering the "Key Card" that was given to him, he scanned the card on the lock, and the doors began to slide open.

Barely waiting for the door to open completely, Yuji squeezed through the entrance and dashed inside the shadowy building, completely ready for a showdown.

"My card! Give it back! Right now!"

"...So I guess Seker gave you a key card now didn't he?"

Yuji turned around as someone walked out of the shadows from the other side of the room. They seemed to be a male around his age, perhaps a bit older. He had violet spiked hair with blonde streaks. A custom duel disk was strapped to his arm, which looked like the blade of a scythe. It appeared to be a D-Gazer compatible model. He wore a torn up purple bomber jacket with black accents, around the arms were several straps and buckles, with the shoulders being laced with spikes. Over his legs were black leather jeans and boots , which also had straps.

Scowling at the one responsible for taking his ace monster, Yuji could not hold in the urge to berate his adversary.

"Nice outfit, what wannabe boy band are you in? Thieves aren't the popular trend either, so if you would hand over my card without any problems, I won't have to humiliate you."

The man laughed. "Watch your tongue, idiot. You don't seem to know who you are dealing with."

Yuji cracked a devilish smirk. "Sure I do."

"Please. My name is Kyohei Kudo, losers such as yourself though should refer to me as the Skull King, leader of the Skull Servant Gang." The man said as he began to circle around Yuji.

"So those guys that attacked me, that was you?!"

"Bingo." Kyohei said as he brushed a hand through his hair.

Yuji inquired. "Then what did you do to make me pass out? Some sort of knock-out gas or something?"

"That will remain a secret." Kyohei said as he began to make his way to the center of the room. "Enough chit-chat, you came here for your Gate Card and I'd hate to make your trip useless."

Hearing that familiar phrase, Yuji exploded in confusion. "Gate Card? I keep hearing that name, I have no idea what you're talking about, Pyressor is just an average effect monster!"

"Oh, Pyressor? So that was the name of the card, once I identified it as the Gate Card I took it without giving it as much as another look." A flash of anger emerged on Kyohei's face. "If you didn't even know how important this card is, then it is obviously a better fit in my deck than in yours!"

"No way! That was my first card ever! All those memories I've had with it, the bonds I've made in the duels with it, they aren't yours to just take!" Yuji exclaimed with a fury.

"Be quiet. If you want this card so bad then duel me for it! If you win, I'll hand it over, but if you lose...you'll give me your Key Card, and never show your face here ever again!" Kyohei said as he activated his Duel Disk, which shone like the night.

"A duel huh? Music to my ears, let's get to it!" Yuji said as he threw his Duel Disk onto his arm as it activated. "Time for you to get cremated!"

They loaded their decks, and at the same time, they both shouted.

"DUEL"

Yuji: 8000 LP

Kyohei: 8000 LP

"Since I'm superior to you I think I'll take the first turn! My turn!" Kyohei said he gazed at his full hand.

"Wait! Eight-thousand life points?! Shouldn't it be four thousand?!" Yuji shouted in confusion.

"Seker left you clueless didn't he? That's the rules down here, genius, identical to the official tournament rules, only big league players thrive here! You'll soon learn though, this is my club, and my rules, and I won't let a stray rat like yourself infest it with mediocrity!"

"I summon Undead Knight in attack position!"

Undead Knight / Level 4

Dark / Zombie / Effect

ATK: 1700 / DEF: 0

Rising from the earth, a reanimated warrior stumbled to its feet. It wore a dull silvered, rusted armor, and wielded a sword that was chipped and damaged.

"Next, I place one card face down and end my turn. You're up."

Yuji grinned. "That's all? I think the title "Skull King" fits you, because this duel is already buried! I draw!!!" He yelled as he took a card from the top of his deck and added it to his hand. Despite his boasting, Yuji felt extremely anxious. His starting hand wasn't optimal, he knew that he would have trouble if his opponent summoned a strong monster, he also didn't have a way to deal with his opponents' back row. Since he didn't have his ace, that only served to add pressure. He never won a duel against a tough opponent without Pyressor Fighter. But this was his only chance to get it back. Knowing this, he steeled himself and decided to hold out until he finds a way to win.

"From my hand, I summon Summoner Monk in attack position!"

Summoner Monk / Level 4

Dark / Spellcaster / Effect

ATK: 800 / DEF: 1600

"When this card is normal summoned, I must change it to defense position. Once per turn, I can discard a spell from my hand, to special summon a monster from my deck!" Yuji discarded a spell, then drew another card from his deck and placed it on the duel disk.

"Come forth, Warressor Soldier!!!"

Warressor Soldier / Level 4

Earth / Warrior / Effect

ATK: 1900 / 1500

A barbarous, axe-wielding warrior entered the battlefield, with armor that was torn from countless fights. The monster had an eyepatch covering his right eye.

"When Warressor is summoned to the field, I can destroy one monster on the field with attack lower than it! Go! Destroy his Undead Knight!"

The soldier spun around with his axe like a twister, before launching his axe at the knight, destroying the monster as it left the field in an explosion.

"How do you like that?!" Yuji mocked. "Luckily for you, when a monster is summoned due to Summoner Monk, it can't attack that turn. So I guess my turn comes to an end."

The zombie duelist let out a faint snicker as Yuji's turn ended. "Maybe you aren't the amateurI thought you were...is what I would say if I wasn't about to crush you! I draw!!!"

"From my hand, I summon Undead Necromancer!!"

Undead Necromancer / Level 4

Dark / Zombie / Effect

ATK: 1700 / DEF: 0

A decaying sorcerer crawled from the depths of the grave.

"When my Necromancer is summoned, I can send the top card from my deck to the graveyard, and if it's a zombie-type monster, I can summon it!" Kyohei quoted as his duel disk discarded a monster from the top of his deck.

"Perfect. Join the dead of night! Undead Druid!!!" Another fallen warrior arose, this one wearing torn black robes and holding a staff in each hand.

Undead Druid / Level 4

Dark / Zombie / Effect

ATK: 1500 / DEF: 0

"It's not over yet! I activate my face-down card, the continuous spell, Cemetery Sanction!!!"

A card depicting a dark, abandoned church revealed itself.

"Time to battle!!! Attack, Druid! Smash his Warressor into pieces!!!" Kyohei called out as his monster charged forward.

Yuji was puzzled. "Your monster doesn't have enough attack points to do anything! You'll just destroy yourself!"

Kyohei started to cackle maniacally. "I'll show you why I stand over all! When Druid attacks a monster, it can increase its attack points by four hundred points!!"

"What?!!!" Yuji cried out in shock.

The two monsters clashed, both being sent to the graveyard.

"At least I only have one monster to deal with now…" Yuji said.

Kyohei laughed. "That's what you think! I activate the effect of my Cemetary Sanction!! When an Undead monster I control is destroyed by battle, I can play life points equal to its attack...in order to special summon it!!!"

Unleashing a guttural growl as his life points dropped, he raised his arm in the air as he pulled his Druid back from the graveyard and placed it back on the field.

"Druid! Necromancer! Direct Attack!"

As Yuji was struck by the monsters attacks, he was thrown backwards, crashing into the ground.

Yuji: 4800 LP

Kyohei: 6500 LP

"I-Impossible...that combo, I've never seen anything like that before!" Yuji attempted to catch his breath as he stood back on his feet.

"That's how the Skull King duels, do yourself a favor and surrender. Turn end."

With no monsters left on the field, Yuji found himself in a predicament. If this was a normal duel, he would have found himself dangerously close to losing at eight-hundred life points. The extra life points saved him from being in a worse situation, but also was perfect for Kyohei's deck, which ensured his monsters were nigh immortal.

"My turn, I draw!! I summon Repressor Hunter to the field in attack mode!

Repressor Hunter / Level 4

Wind / Warrior / Effect

ATK: 1800 / DEF: 1400

An archer descended, holding a mystical bow and arrow.

"When Repressor Hunter is summoned, I can send the top card of your deck to the graveyard!" A spell card was sent from Kyohei's deck to the graveyard.

"Tch. You're getting on my nerves now, little punk." Kyohei scoffed.

"Then get ready for some more! Battle! Repressor Hunter, shoot down his Druid!"

The hunter fired a blazing arrow that pierced Undead Druid in the head, destroying it. Kyohei braced himself as he took three-hundred points of damage.

"FOOL. Do you not learn?! You can't win! Once more I activate the effect of Cemetery Sanction, I'll pay fifteen-hundred life points to bring back my monster!"

"Do you really think so?"

"What?!"

Yuji grinned. "I activate Repressor Hunter's effect! When I destroy an opponent's monster by battle, I can destroy a card on your side of the field, depending on the type of card I sent to the graveyard earlier with its effect! So say goodbye to Cemetary Sanction!"

"No!!!" Kyohei yelled as his combo was broken. Luckily, he still managed to bring back his Druid, but now he was fifteen-hundred life points short, and without his spell to bring back his monsters.

"Luck!!! You've been gambling your way through this duel, you have no skills! Someone like you cannot be better than me!"

"Maybe, but your dueling style is reckless as well, you've done more damage to yourself than I have...it'll be your downfall." Yuji placed one card face down and ended his turn.

Yuji: 4800 LP

Kyohei: 4700 LP

Losing his composure, Kyohei went into a frenzy, having less life points than someone who he thought was his inferior, was something he could not stand.

"My turn, I draw!!! I was going to hold off on this, but you've pissed me off. I'm going you show you true terror!!" Kyohei began to become enveloped in a dark aura.

"W-what's happening?!" Yuji stuttered as was hit with a wave of fear. His heart began to mysteriously race, it was almost the exact same feeling he had that made him pass out earlier.

"I overlay my level four Undead Druid and level four Undead Necromancer, with these two monsters, I build the Overlay Network!!!"

Yuji began to stumble backwards as his legs began to shake. This is what he feared. A powerful monster cometh.

"Dreadful executioner, drag the vengeful before you into an eternal slumber. March in madness! I Xyz summon!!! Arise, Rank Four, Undead Dullahan!!!"

Undead Dullahan / Rank 4

Dark / Zombie / Xyz / Effect

ATK: 2500 / DEF: 2000

A gargantuan headless knight stood, clad in ebon armor. It was draped in a torn cape, and wielded a massive sword.

"Let's send you to the morgue!! Attack, Dullahan!! Cut his feeble minster in half!!!" Kyohei howled as he thrust his fist forward.

Yuji flipped over his face-down card. "Not on my watch! You've triggered my trap card! I activate Aggressor Valor!!! During the battle phase, if a "Ressor" monster I control is targeted by an attack, I can make my monster gain one-thousand attack points until the end of this turn!"

Repressor Hunter

ATK: 2800 / DEF: 1400

Undead Dullahan

ATK: 2500 / DEF: 2000

"Useless! I activate Undead Dullahan's effect! When an effect is activated that would increase a monster's attack points, by removing one overlay unit, I can change that monster's attack to twenty-five hundred!"

"But you'll destroy both our monsters?!" Yuji exclaimed.

"Undead Dullahan cannot be destroyed in battle by monsters with the same attack! Continue your assault! Undead Dullahan attack!!! Undead Behead!!!"

The fallen warrior charged forward, slicing the head off of Repressor Hunter. Yuji shielded himself from his monster's destruction. The wind from the explosion nearly knocking him off balance.

"If you thought it was over think again! My monster activates it's other effect!"

"Another?!"

"When my Dullahan destroys a monster with the same attack as it and sends it to the graveyard, I can special summon an Undead Token with the same attack and defense as the destroyed monster!"

Undead Token / Level 4

Dark / Zombie / Effect

ATK: 1800 / DEF: 1400

"Take him down, attack!!"

Yuji flew back once more as he took damage, this time slamming against a wall. Upon impact he felt pain seared throughout his entire being. It was almost as if the battle damage was real.

Yuji: 3000 LP

Kyohei: 4700 LP

Losing himself in amusement, Kyohei reeled his head back as he burst into laughter.

"Looks like this duel has turned into a real thriller! I set one card face-down and end my turn. My turn may be over, but your end is just beginning!"

Yuji looked at his hand. There wasn't a card that could save him from Dullahan, there was only one card that could grant him victory, but it wasn't in his possession. If his opponent were to summon it along with his own ace on the field, there would be no hope. Yuji had intuition that Pyressor Fighter was not yet in Kyohei's hand. If it had, he would have taunted him with it. Someone as arrogant as him could not resist. He had to stall until he could find an opening.

"My turn! I draw! From my hand, I summon Magressor Magician!!! A wizard was brought forth, wearing regal green robes as well as a staff.

Magressor Magician / Level 3

Light / Spellcaster / Effect

ATK: 1800 / 1600

"I activate my Magician's effect! Once per turn, I can banish a spell in my graveyard, and then I can activate its effect! I target the card I discarded due to Summoner Monk's effect on my first turn, Monster Reborn!"

"A loser like you had a card like that?!" Kyohei barked furiously.

"Now I can bring back one monster from either graveyard, and I choose Repressor Hunter!!"

Repressor Hunter / Level 4

Wind / Warrior / Effect

ATK: 1800 / DEF: 1400

"You know the drill already, say farewell to the top card of your deck!" Yuji said as a monster card was sent to the graveyard.

"Perfect. Now, when I control a "Ressor" monster, I can special summon this card from my hand in defense, lets go, Preressor Clergic!!"

A medic dressed in an angelic white descended to the field.

Preressor Clergic / Level 3

Light / Fairy / Effect

ATK: 1000 / DEF: 2000

"When this card is summoned, I can target a monster I control, and have it gain one-thousand attack points until the end of the turn! I choose my Repressor Hunter!"

"Did you lose your sight? My Dullahan is still on the field!" Kyohei smirked. "I remove one overlay unit to make your Hunter's attack the same as my Dullahan's!"

"Gotcha." Yuji returned a smile to his opponent. "You've left yourself wide open! Battle! Repressor Hunter, let's go!!

"Again, are you dumb?! My monster can't be destroyed by another with the same attack!"

"You're the one who's made a fatal flaw! I activate my trap, Aggressor Valor's effect from my graveyard! At the start of the battle phase, if my opponent controls a monster with attack equal to or greater than a monster on my side of the field, I can banish it, a monster I control becomes unaffected by my opponent's card effects, and gains attack equal to the combined attack points of all my other monsters on the field until the end phase!!"

Repressor Hunter

ATK: 4600 / DEF: 1400

"I don't have anymore overlay units!!! How could I let this happen?! I can't stop this!" Kyohei panicked.

"Attack, Repressor! Inferno Arrow!!!" A massive arrow covered in flames raced towards Undead Dullahan.

"I won't let this happen! I activate my trap card! Undead Memory!!!" Kyohei yelled as he flipped over his face-down. "If I control an Undead Xyz monster, my monsters can't get destroyed by battle this turn!"

"But you still take the damage!!!"

The arrow pierced Undead Dullahan in the chest, consuming it in a fiery explosion. Kyohei grunted in agony as he was sent flying backwards from the attack.

Yuji: 3000 LP

Kyohei : 2600 LP

"My other monsters cannot attack the turn I activate Aggressor Valor, not that I would have anyway...I end my turn. How does it feel to get thrown around?" Yuji mocked.

"It feels like I'm going to kill you." Kyohei said as he struggled to his feet. The dark aura around him appeared once more, growing even stronger than before.

"Before I ambushed you, I heard you yelling like a lunatic about you wanting to be the best duelist. That made me sick. A clown like you? A loser like you? An amateur that relies on chance to even make a scratch on my life points? You'll never be anything special, people like you stay in your pools, never even making it out the losers bracket! I'm the strongest duelist, the right to be king is mine!!! I'll beat you, I'll beat him, and I'll show everyone what I've known all along...that you were already dead the moment you picked up a deck!!! I draw!!!"

"Let's turn the tables shall we! I activate the spell card, Undead Charity! By destroying an Undead monster I control, I can draw three cards!! I destroy my Undead Token!!" Kyohei smirked as he looked at his newly added cards.

"Next, I activate the spell card, Undead Exorcism!! With this, by paying five-hundred life points, I can target a card from your graveyard, and until the end of this turn, I can move it to my graveyard!"

Yuji was stunned. He had never seen a card with such an unusual effect. He began to shake in fear as he did not know what Kyohei was planning to do.

"I choose your Warressor Soldier!!! Now it will serve me! I activate another spell card! Monster Reanimation!!! This card lets me bring back a monster from my graveyard, but it's destroyed during my end phase! Come out my new servant!"

Yuji gritted his teeth as he knew what Kyohei would do with his monster.

"You know the drill already, right?! Warressor's effect activates! I can destroy a monster on your side of the field with lower attack than itself. I choose your Clergic!!!"

Yuji covered his face with his arms as Preressor Clergic was destroyed.

"The night isn't over yet! I summon Undead Necroplasmer in attack position!!!

Undead Necroplasmer / Level 4

Dark / Zombie / Effect

ATK: 0 / DEF: 2000

"Let's prepare your funeral shall we?!! Necroplasmer, attack his Magician!!"

"Attacking me with a monster that has zero attack?! What are you planning?!" Yuji questioned.

"Your funeral! My Necroplasmer can't be destroyed by battle, when it battles an attack position monster, I can gain life points equal to that monster's attack!"

Yuji: 3000 LP

Kyohei: 3900 LP

"Attack, Warressor, destroy his Magressor Magician!!"

Yuji fought against the gale created by the attack.

"Now, Undead Dullahan, end Repressor Hunter! Undead Behead!!!"

The monster's head was severed as the monster disintegrated into nothing.

Yuji: 2200 LP

Kyohei: 3900 LP

"Looks like their won't be another turn for you after this, savor your final moments...my turn ends."

Yuji had no more offense. At this rate he was sure to lose. With Necroplasmer on the field , battle damage became obsolete, as Kyohei could simply regain his life points next turn. Once more, if he had his ace card, he could win. A light of hope flickered in his head when he saw Kyohei activate "Undead Exorcism", if he could survive until he got a certain card, he might be able to win, he thought.

"It isn't over, not as long as the fire in me is burning!! My turn, I draw!!! I set a monster in face-down defense position, and I put one card face-down in my spell and trap zone! Turn end."

"...That's it?!?! Ha! After that little comment about fire burning you had such a pitiful turn, looks like your little flame is going to get stamped out!" Kyohei bellowed. "My turn, I draw!"

"I summon Undead Dweller in attack position!"

Undead Dweller / Level 4

Dark / Zombie / Effect

ATK: 1900 / DEF: 0

A large, muscular humanoid zombie limped onto the field.

"When this card is summoned, I can special summon a level four or lower Undead monster from my hand or deck! Close the curtains, Undead Undertaker!!!"

Undead Undertaker / Level 4

Dark / Zombie / Effect

ATK: 1600 / DEF: 0

A skeletal creature wearing a shredded trench coat arose.

Kyohei was cautious of the face-down card Yuji had, after he surprised him with "Aggressor Valor" he knew not to take his opponent too lightly.

"I have to say...I wasn't expecting you to push me this far...now that I think about it, I never got your name."

Yuji paused for a moment, before responding. "My name is Yuji...Yuji Nensho. The future Duel King."

"Hmm. Yuji, huh. I'll remember that name, so I can inscribe it on your grave!!! It's time for the past to haunt you, Yuji! I activate Undead Knight's effect from the graveyard!"

"Undead Knight?!" Yuji remember that it was the first monster he destroyed during the duel, it seemed harmless at first, but he was unaware it had a graveyard effect.

"When an Xyz monster I control has no Xyz material attached to it, I can attach this card to it as an Overlay Unit!! You thought the nightmare was done, but the worst is yet to come, but fret not, I'll end it soon!"

Kyohei cackled as Undead Knight turned into a glowing orb that orbited Undead Dullahan.

"Nothing will ever be able to surpass me or my Dullahan! Whatever you have face-down doesn't matter! As long as Undead Undertaker is on the field, you can't target my monsters on the field with card effects! Let the final battle begin!!! Attack his monster, Undead Undertaker!"

Yuji's face-down monster was flipped up.

"Come out, Ressoriboh!"

Ressoriboh / Level 3

Fire / Fiend / Effect

ATK: 300 / DEF: 500

A spherical, furred creature wearing red armor appeared.

"When Ressoriboh is the only monster I control, I can pay five-hundred life points to negate its destruction by battle!" Yuji shouted.

"Why won't you just give up, continue your attack Undertaker!" Kyohei angrily ordered his monster.

Yuji: 1700 LP

Kyohei: 3900 LP

"Attack, Undead Dweller!"

Yuji: 1200 LP

Kyohei: 3900 LP

"Attack, attack, attack!!! Undead Dullahan, strike it down, Undead Behead!!!"

Yuji: 700 LP

Kyohei: 3900 LP

"You've really been getting on my nerves, haven't you, bastard. This time you've really cornered yourself. Next turn I'll have your head...your little critter won't save you from another onslaught. Turn end."

This was the last turn. Undeniably. Yuji knew if he did not get the right card during his draw phase, it was over. He knew all the cards in his deck, anything other than what he needed meant he would be obliterated on Kyohei's next turn. It was almost impossible to do in actuality, but Yuji remembered how all the legendary duelists he looked up to growing up, would always get the right card they needed in a pinch. A destiny draw. But he did not have any special abilities, none that would allow him to ensure that happening. He remembered, Pyressor Fighter, and the friend he made because of it. Yuji remembered Setsuna, cracking a smirk as he thought for a moment she was right about Duel Monsters. Maybe he should have never played. Should have never picked up a card, or try to be a professional duelist.

But he was not so easily swayed. He made it this far, so what if it was by luck? The law of probability says that virtually anything can happen. Whether his luck led him to succeed or fail, it was the reason he got here today, and he for sure didn't come to this crazy abandoned warehouse to get his back row kicked in a duel.

Putting all his faith in his last card, Yuji let out a triumphant roar as he drew.

"My turn...I DRAW!!!"

It was here.

But the battle was not won yet. He had one more spin to take.

"I summon, Suppressor Scout in attack position!!!

Suppressor Scout / Level 4

Wind / Winged-Beast / Effect

ATK: 1700 / 1200

A winged humanoid creature emerged, dressed as an assassin.

"When this card is summoned, I can summon a "Ressor" monster from my graveyard in attack position! Return, Repressor Hunter!!!"

The archer returned to the field, and Yuji closed his eyes, betting everything on this last effect.

"When Repressor Hunter is summoned, I can send the top card of your deck to the graveyard!"

"What good will that do you now?!" Kyohei hissed.

"You'll see how the future Duel King does battle! Come on!"

The top card of Kyohei's deck was discarded. It was Pyressor Fighter.

Baffled, Kyohei fumed with anger. "It can't be!!! So the real reason you were using that effect over and over was to get that monster in the graveyard! It does matter though, soon you'll be joining it there!"

"Are you sure about that? I activate Magressor Magician's effect from the graveyard, by banishing this card, I can target on spell card in your graveyard and use its effect! And I choose Undead Exorcism!!! By paying five-hundred life points, I can take a monster from your graveyard and switch it to mine until the end of the turn! I choose Pyressor Fighter!!!"

Yuji: 200 LP

Kyohei: 3900 LP

Discomposed, Kyohei couldn't fathom what his opponent was attempting. He did not know what effect Yuji's ace had, in his hubris, he had neglected to read the card. "What are you doing?!"

"This is my all-or-nothing gamble!!! My ultimate last resort...I activate my trap card Pressor Pressure!!! Until the end of this turn, I can make my life points eight-thousand!"

"WHAT?! IMPOSSIBLE!!!"

"I can only activate this card when I have one-thousand or lower life points, and during the end phase my life points will become one-thousand. However, only under the condition that Pyressor Fighter is on the field during the end phase, if it isn't on the field during the end phase, I'll take eight-thousand points of damage, and I cannot negate this effect…"

Yuji: 8000 LP

Kyohei: 3900 LP

"What kind of self destructive card is that?! Have you gone insane?! You can't win no matter what you do!!!"

"...You know Kyohei, I actually kind of enjoyed this duel, we both are pretty reckless style duelists, whether you'll admit it or not, we are alike. But you made a grave mistake, you tried to put an end to my dreams!! It's time for my victory, and it's time for you to repent!!!

"I activate Pyressor Fighter's effect!!! I can special summon this card from my hand or graveyard by giving up half my life points!!!"

"Cursed controller of flames, deliver the rite of vengeance that courses through your veins!!! Let's explode! Come forth, Pyressor Fighter!!!"

A humanoid figure emerged from an eruption of fire. Clad in charred, blackened armor that dimly glimmered like obsidian. It had four wings comprised of flames extending from its back. It had several chains laced around its body. The only flesh shown by this monster was the glowing crimson eyes that pierced through the armor that bound it.

Pyressor Fighter / Level 8

Fire / Pyro / Effect

ATK: 2500 / DEF: 2000

Yuji: 4000 LP

Kyohei: 3900 LP

Kyohei started to laugh uncontrollably. "What kind of card is that?! You've practically destroyed yourself!"

"That's the point." Yuji extended his arm towards Kyohei. "You should have never stole my card. Battle!!!"

"You've lost it!! You've completely lost it!!! First you play a suicidal trap card, then a gimped-up monster, now you are trying to attack with a measly twenty-five hundred attack?! No battle damage you deal will save you! And even if you boost your attack, my Dullahan will nullify the effect, you've wasted your turn for a meaningless final stand!"

"I don't need to boost its attack…it's good enough to beat you as is! Attack Undead Dullahan, Pyressor Fighter!!! Ignite Knuckle!!!

"End his pathetic tarade, Undead Dullahan, strike it down, Undead Behead!!!"

As Pyressor's blazing fist clashed against Dullahan's sword, Pyressor's armor began to shatter, as cracks began to form under the pressure of the blade.

"You've lost Yuji!!! Begone!" Kyohei declared.

"I told you that I would be the next Duel King, it's time for you to bow."

Pyressor Fighter began to be consumed by flames.

"I activate Pyressor Fighter's effect!!! When it would be destroyed by battle and sent to the graveyard, I can inflict damage to my opponent, equal to the amount of life points I gave up to summon this card!!!"

"Four-thousand points of damage?!?!?! How?! This can't be happening!!!" Kyohei whimpered in disbelief and frustration as he knew he had lost.

"Avenge those that carved the path, Pyressor!!! End this duel!! Blaze Of Glory!!!

Exploding like a supernova, all the monsters and the field was consumed by the raging storm of combustion. Kyohei yelled as he was thrown backwards from the shockwave, causing all of his cards from his duel disk to be scattered around the floor.

Yuji: 4000 LP

Kyohei: 0 LP

Winner: Yuji Nensho

The holographic monsters vanished from reality as Yuji fell to his knees, exhausted from the duel.

Elsewhere, Setsuna deactivated her duel disk as a shadowy monster was dispersed from her side of the field. She looked down at the three Skull Servant Gang members that challenged her in disgust.

"Don't ever challenge me to a duel again." She cruelly muttered as she turned around, beginning to walk away from her defeated opponents.

"I...can't b-believe...she beat all three of us...with just that one monster…" One of the members weakly spoke before their consciousness faded.

At the warehouse, where the duel between Yuji and Kyohei just concluded, Yuji searched through the cards that were scattered across the floor. He eventually locked eyes with Pyressor Fighter.

"Finally, we're together again my friend…"

As he reached for the card, it began to slip out of his reach, as if there was an invisible wind whisking it away. All of Kyohei's cards began to swirl around him like a vortex, including Pyressor Fighter. Like he was being raised from the dead, Kyohei was eerily lifted to his feet by the same dark aura that surrounded him before.

"W-what's going on?!" Yuji choked on his words.

As if he became another person entirely, Kyohei spoke with a lifeless tone. "I tried to give you the easy way out, but since you wanted to win, I cannot allow you to continue standing in my way…" One of the cards circling him levitated into his hand, he then proceeded to play the card on his duel disk. A violet chasm of energy appeared on the ground, and to Yuji's surprise, Undead Dullahan emerged from it.

"But that's impossible! You can't summon a monster when a duel isn't in progress?! This...this can't be real?!"

"Time to die, Yuji!!!" Undead Dullahan raised it's sword to exterminate the minuscule human that stood before it.

As Yuji braced himself for the worst, Pyressor Fighter's card began to spark into flame, it raced over to Yuji's side at blinding speed, stopping in front of him. Materializing without a duel disk, Pyressor was summoned to reality, blocking the sword once more with its fists. As the two monsters battled, a golden orb of light began to emanate from the epicenter of their clash.

"Incredible…" Yuji whispered to himself in awe.

"That's enough."

A familiar voice spoke as a flash of light encompassed the room. When it faded, Kyohei and Undead Dullahan were gone, and in their place stood Seker. Pyressor Fighter returned to its card in a beam of light as Yuji took it in his hands.

"Tell me, what's going on here? I need to know."

Yuji calmly asked.

Seker nodded. "Of course. You've been invited to a gathering, one where the secrets of the Duel Monster's spirits will be revealed. Welcome to EGRESS."


	2. EGRESS2

Chapter 2: New Day

A few days had passed since the incident, after finding himself barely escaping the clutches of demise, at the blade of what seemingly was a real monster, Yuji remained apprehensive. In both curiosity and fear, he spent his days pondering as to what it was that Seker meant by his words.

"You've been invited to a gathering, one where the secrets of the Duel Monster's spirits will be revealed."

The words of the enigmatic entity echoed in the planes of his mind. Like a puzzle, he had been trying to find the answer to the endless questions he had found himself buried in. What is EGRESS? Who is Seker? Why were the monsters, real? None of the pieces fit, none of the keys opened a doorway, no matter how hard he tried. It was an incredible experience, the adrenaline, the rush, the sensation of the game was unlike anything Yuji had felt before, it was as if he was doing battle himself. The added possibility that his ace card, Pyressor Fighter, was potentially something even beyond his imagination, some sort of solemn so-called "Gate Card", also piqued his interest. The thought of a random card he had stumbled upon, that was seen as useless by others, actually being a one-of-a-kind rare card, was gratifying.

Akin to before, class had been dismissed, and Yuji had departed Duel Academy on a rainy day. He was in a rush once more, however this time, he went to obtain answers, instead of witnessing a conclusion. He hadn't spoken to Setsuna much for a few days. Those events that day shook him to the core, to the extent that he didn't even care about the championships, which otherwise he would have been raving about. He recalled what Seker told him before he vanished that evening.

"Return here in a week's time, all your questions shall be answered, and you will learn of your destiny." The words that had resounded as they disappeared with the cloaked man in a blinding luminosity.

Yuji arrived at the warehouse once more, where he had his duel with the leader of the Skull Servant Gang, Kyohei Kudo. His current whereabouts were unknown, all Yuji knew for certain was that if he faced him once more, he might not be as lucky to pull off a victory. Steeling himself for a potential trap, he took a deep breath.

"Alright, I've got this."

Scanning the Key Card given to him to enter, he slowly made his way into the dark interior of the warehouse. As the doors closed behind him, the lights suddenly came on as Seker appeared before him.

"Welcome, duelist. I see that you have arrived here unimpeded." Bowing his head, Seker greeted Yuji as he stood cautiously by the entrance.

Without missing a beat, Yuji could not contain his curiosity, and began to inquire the mysterious man before him.

"Hold it! Before we get all warm and bubbly here, I need some answers! Although I'm grateful for your help in getting back my card, I'm no fool. The fact that you happened to show up the moment my card got stolen, as well as inviting me here alone, how do I know you just don't want the card for yourself?!" Yuji brazenly exclaimed.

"I have no inten-" Attempting to reply, Seker was interrupted by Yuji as he continued his rant.

"Also, what the hell is "EGRESS" thing you told me about? Sorry, I'm not about joining cults if that's what it is, I mean, you're dressed for the part too! You also need to tell how the hell you managed to hack the duel disks to make the monsters hit hard for real, it's exciting, but also dangerous when I had time to think about it…"

"If you would just allow me t-" Seker was cut off from speaking once more.

"And about my card again, what is a "Gate Card", is it some sort of secret type of rarity? Or perhaps some type of legendary mon-"

Yuji stopped talking once he witnessed Seker glaring at him with a piercing gaze.

"Sorry." Yuji said as he took a step back and bowed his head.

"No matter, it's normal for one to not be trusting of a stranger when thrust in such an unusual situation in an otherwise mundane life, but if you truly wish to be enlightened, you will follow me." Turning around, Seker began to make his way to the wall on the other end of the room.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Yuji shouted in confusion.

Placing his hand on the wall, a golden radiance emanated from Seker as the wall began to shift and open, revealing a hidden stairway leading underground.

"This path will give you the answers you desire, if you truly have faith in yourself as a duelist, you will follow me, or you may leave. It is your choice." The shrouded emissary said as he began to descend the steps.

Conflicted for a moment, Yuji sprinted after Seker.

"Damn it! Wait up!"

As the two travelled lower into the underground passage, Seker had remained silent.

"So uh...how long do we have to walk for?" Yuji asked as he tried to break the ice.

"We are already halfway there, it is a quick venture." Seker calmly replied.

Still uneasy, Yuji asked yet another question. "Who are you exactly, other than a psychic supernatural stalker?"

"No need to jest. I am but a mere enforcer of sorts. Our organization is a secret one, I serve only to manage those who are a part of it, and to bring in new members. I make sure no one gets out of line. Of course, that only is within our group. Occasionally, someone will drag their affairs into the public as well. I'm not supposed to intervene in those events, but with you, since you possessed a Gate Card, I made an exception." Seker reached the bottom of the flight of stairs, and began to walk down a narrow corridor with Yuji following close behind.

Upon hearing what Seker had said, he was reminded of Kyohei. "So that's why you stopped Kyohei from attacking me then, what happened to him? Where is he now?"

"He gave into his hatred, which allowed his Undead Dullahan, a Gate Card similar to yours, to control him. Using a monster's abilities on the outside is forbidden. I sent him away to another dimension, until the effect of his monster's control wore off. He is well, or however you may define it, but if you encounter him I suggest avoiding him for obvious reasons."

As Yuji wore a bewildered look on his face from everything he had just heard, he stopped as Seker halted in front of him. At the end of the corridor was a large room, which looked far more advanced than the warehouse that was laid on the surface. Having a sleek silver metallic floor and walls, as well as a mysterious ball of light on the ceiling which lit up the room, there was a large, strange circular area in the middle of the room. It seemed to be some sort of platform with places for people to stand.

"We have arrived." Seker said as he walked towards the circle in the middle of the room.

"Huh?! There is nothing here at all!" Yuji scolded.

"Stand here in the circle, across from me." Gesturing for him to step forward, Yuji stepped onto the circle warily.

"Alright, I did it. What now?"

"Hold out your Key Card."

Pulling out the card from his pocket, he dramatically raised it into the air as if it were a shining draw in the heat of a duel.

"Ok. Now wha-HUH?!?!"

The circle beneath Yuji and Seker's feet began to glow in a radiant blue light. The two proceeded to find themselves falling through a breach in reality, a portal that was whisking them away to an unknown location. Yuji screamed as he flailed about in this sudden interdimensional travel, while Seker calmly levitated throughout the journey.

Reaching the end of the tunnel, Yuji was thrown out onto the ground with Seker landing skillfully beside him.

"Yuji Nensho, welcome to EGRESS."

Looking around in awe, Yuji took in his surroundings. What he was seeing was an alternate world from the one he had known. In the middle of a grand plaza, with several duelists taking part in matches, as well as other activities. It was like a city, almost identical to Roulette in size. Despite the world being similar to the real one, it had its differences. There was no sun in the sky, nor a moon, but a massive, endless spacial void that pulsated with energy. Some of the architecture and technology around him seemed to be beyond state-of-the-art, futuristic even.

"Woah, this place is almost like LINK VRAINS, but there is something different about it. Looking up from here, those buildings, and how it lines up with the sky...it looks exactly like the card Future Fusion!!"

Seker nodded. "This is an alternate space created solely for Gate Card holders. All the people here are duelists that have been brought to this dimension in a similar fashion to you. But unlike the game you mentioned, this place has a different purpose. It merely serves as a bridge, a gateway into the world where our allies reside."

Yuji turned to face Seker. "Wait, another world?!"

"Yes, but only those who have proven themselves can enter it. If you wish to go there, you must pass a trial first." Seker affirmed.

"Tell me Seker, I'm ready for anything! I've already come this far, I'm not about to back away now!" Yuji declared as he began burning with anticipation.

"You must win a single duel here in EGRESS. Then you may have the permission to enter worlds as you please, it will also be where all your questions will finally be answered." The enforcer avowed.

Letting out a small chuckle, Yuji began to put on his duel disk. "That's all?! Ha! I've practically got this in the bag!"

Witnessing his determination, Seker cracked a smirk. "Such passion within you, I was right to bring you here. Although I was hoping to bring your friend along as well."

For a moment, Yuji paused, before bursting into laughter. "I guess you must've seen Setsuna with me on that day while you were watching, but you would have wasted your time trying to recruit her! Unlike me, she doesn't like Duel Monsters at all, she doesn't even have a deck!"

"Hmm. Is that so?" Seker mumbled.

"...What?" Yuji replied.

"It's nothing. I will leave you to it then. If you wish to leave, merely use the transportation circle in the center of the plaza, and you will be sent back to Roulette City. Until we meet again." A golden light encompassed Seker as he vanished from sight.

"That guy, he's weird…" Yuji muttered to himself. "Well, I guess I'll just have to find an opponent then…who wants to get royally defeated by me?!" Shouting amidst dozens of duelists, multiple gazes met him as he beaconed his challenge.

"Oh look, it's a newbie." One of the duelists whispered.

"Doesn't look like anyone special."

"This clown is really screeching for a duel rather than asking for one like a normal person, yikes…"

"What's wrong with his hair?!"

"I'd duel, but if you run a burn deck…"

"Seker really needs to stop bringing in these wannabe duelists."

After a moment of evaluation, Yuji's plea was ignored as the other duelists began to resume their activities.

"You all aren't deaf, are you?! Come on, someone face me!!" Yuji started to dash towards any duelist he could find, only for them to avoid him, either in fear, or in sheer disinterest. Eventually, he found himself alone as he had chased everyone out of the plaza. Frustrated and crestfallen, he made his way to a nearby bench, crossing his arms as he sat down defeated.

"Maybe I got too excited, but there is still no excuse for them to have treated me like that. I bet when each and every one of them were new in EGRESS, they got a warm welcome! Next time I see them I'll show them warm alright, when my Pyressor burns their life points to zero!!!"

Maniacally laughing before sighing and sinking back down into his seat, Yuji looked up at the sky, watching the dimension shift like an aurora. "I was never good at making a lot of friends anyway…"

"I accept your challenge!" A disembodied voice declared, which caused Yuji to jump to his feet in response.

"What, who?!"

"Me."

Turning around to face the unknown challenger, Yuji locked eyes with mother duelist. It was a young man seemingly around his age, he had short, brown hair and hazel colored eyes. He wore an orange hoodie with a green t-shirt underneath, along with blue jeans and red sneakers. On his right arm was a silver standard duel disk in standby mode.

"Finally, someone with some actual guts! Tell me your name!" Yuji enthusiastically shouted.

"My name is Darby...Darby Stronghold. I am the strongest duelist here in EGRESS!!!" Darby proudly declared.

Shocked, but intrigued, Yuji found himself ecstatic about Darby's claim. "The strongest? A bold claim I'll say, but I'll have you know the best duelist is standing right in front of you...well soon to be anyway."

"Enough chit-chat." Darby pulled out his deck from his pocket and loaded it onto his duel disk. "There is only one way for us to settle this...ready to lose?"

Following his opponent's lead, Yuji also prepared himself for battle. "After you, of course."

"DUEL" The ceremonial words spoken, the game commenced between the two as their duel disks went into duel mode.

Yuji: 8000 LP

Darby: 8000 LP

"I heard you were new, so I'll go first to show you the ropes!" Darby said as he drew his starting hand.

With a grin, Yuji returned the banter. "How kind of you, let's see what you've got!"

"You have no hope of…." Darby cut his words short as he gaped at the cards in his hand. He paused, standing awkwardly, not making any moves.

Scratching his head, Yuji stood impatiently. "Um, you're supposed to make a move! What, did something happen?"

"I can't believe this is happening!" Darby said to himself. Something had happened, something that all duelists feared even more than even deck destruction...he "bricked." In his hand was nothing but high level monsters, none of them which he could summon without tribute. He knew at this rate he would lose, and his facade would be exposed.

"I...I end my turn." With great hesitation, Darby passed his turn.

Infuriated, Yuji gritted his teeth. "This guy...he thinks he's so good that he doesn't need to do anything on his first turn! That arrogance...I'm going to wipe that goofy smirk off his face! I draw!!!"

Turning over his card, it revealed itself to be Pyressor Fighter. "Perfect! This is the best hand I've started out with yet!" Yuji thought to himself. "Darby! You say you are the strongest duelist here, but get ready, because I'm about to dethrone you!"

With a nervous grin, and his eyes twitching, Darby attempted to keep a strong poker face. "Yeah...y-you wish! Bring it!"

"I will! I'll summon my strongest monster right off the bat!" As Darby heard Yuji say those words, he gulped and broke into a cold sweat as he felt a wave of despair wash over him.

"Cursed controller of flames, deliver the rite of vengeance that courses through your veins!!! Let's explode! Come forth, Pyressor Fighter!!!"

Pyressor Fighter / Level 8

Fire / Pyro / Effect

ATK: 2500 / DEF: 2000

Erupting from the earth, and levitating above the two duelists with its wings of flame and imposing armor, Darby began to panic.

"How did you summon such a powerful monster just like that?! That should be imposs-" Cutting himself off once more, Yuji looked at Darby confused as he gazed at his opponent, blankly staring at the life point gauge on his duel disk. Darby slowly began to burst into laughter as he fell on the ground rolling.

"Wait, d-don't tell me! You need to pay HALF your life points to summon that monster?!"

Yuji: 4000 LP

Darby: 8000 LP

"S-so what?!" Yuji stuttered. "Don't make fun of it! This is my best card, no, the strongest monster to ever be summoned on this earth!"

Dusting his clothes off as he tried to stand, Darby kept snickering uncontrollably as he continued to quip. "That's the best card alright, at getting you to halfway lose on your first turn!"

"You shouldn't be talking, your field is empty and I'm just getting started!" As Yuji prepared to make another move Darby was snapped back into reality as he realized that Yuji did not use his normal summon yet for the turn.

"Come forth, Warressor Soldier!!!"

Warressor Soldier / Level 4

Earth / Warrior / Effect

ATK: 1900 / DEF: 1500

A barbarous, axe-wielding warrior entered the battlefield, with armor that was torn from countless fights. The monster had an eyepatch covering his right eye.

"Time for double the trouble! I place two cards face down, and then enter the battle phase! Pyressor and Warressor, attack him directly! Ignite Slash!!"

Charging forward with its giant axe, the warrior lunged its weapon at Darby, as the pyromancer alongside it sparked a flame within its fist and thrust forward with a meteoric punch. The blow from this dual impact sent Darby hurling backwards as he crashed into the ground.

Yuji: 4000 LP

Darby: 3600 LP

"How did that dirt taste, champ?!" Yuji boasted.

"Shut up! It isn't over yet, you just got lucky that's all!" Darby jumped back up to his feet, wearing a furious look on his face. "Unfortunately unlike you, I don't have the luxury of top decking! End your turn already you cheater!"

"I'm not cheating...I'm just lucky! Yuji scoffed. "At this rate though, I doubt you'll have another turn after this! I end my turn!"

As a drop of sweat rolled down his back, Darby realized he was done if he could not summon a monster this turn. In that moment, he put all his faith into his draw, the deciding factor for the outcome of this game.

"I draw!!" Without looking, Darby swiped a card from his deck, turning it over slowly, afraid of what it might hold, he revealed it to himself. It was a monster, one he could bring on the field. But not one that would grant him victory.

"I set a monster face-down...I...I end my turn…" Sulkily declaring the end of his turn, Darby slouched as he was left with minimal defenses.

Noticing his opponent was distraught, Yuji knew his victory was around the corner. Eager to learn about the "other world" Seker told him about, he quickly drew a card, and without missing a beat, entered his battle phase without making any new moves.

"All that talk is gone now it seems, this duel was a piece of cake! Attack his face-down monster, Warressor! Mighty Slash!"

The face-down monster was revealed, it was a blue-skinned female elf with long, blond hair. It wore a regal crown as well as a green dress.

Mystical Elf / Level 4

Light / Spellcaster / Normal

ATK: 800 / DEF: 2000

"A delicate elf that lacks offense, but has a terrific defense backed by mystical power."

Upon attacking a card with defense higher than his monster's attack, Yuji shielded himself as he took damage.

Yuji: 3900 LP

Darby: 3600 LP

"It...can't be, a normal monster?!?!" Yuji's jaw dropped as he realized what had just impeded his attack. "Damn it! Pyressor Fighter, destroy Mystical Elf! Ignite Knuckle!!!"

The armored monster struck the holy elf with a punch, shattering it into pieces. The shockwave from the blow created a gale that swept over the room. If Yuji had attacked first with Pyressor, he would have been able to deal battle damage to his opponent. But in his haste, he had neglected the possibility that the face-down monster was strong enough to withstand an attack from a powerful level four monster.

For Darby's face-down monster to also be Mystical Elf, one of the first cards ever to be released, also a card that hasn't seen play in decades, stunned Yuji completely. "What kind of opponent am I facing?" Yuji thought to himself.

Regaining his composure, Yuji placed a card from his hand onto his duel disk. "I set one monster face-down, turn end. Now you've got me intrigued. Let's see what you've got!"

Relieved that he managed to survive the turn without taking damage, Darby readied himself for his turn. He knew his opponent would not make the same mistake twice and attack a set monster recklessly. Going on the offense was the only option. There was only one card that he could use, his ace monster.

"I draw!!!" Darby shouted as he pulled a card from his deck, revealing it to himself, it was a spell card.

Witnessing his adversary pause after making his move, Yuji knew he didn't get the card he needed. "So I guess it's over for you then, isn't it?"

Darby smirked. "No, you're wrong. I've got exactly the card I need!!! I activate the spell, Reload, from my hand!!"

Placing the cards in his hand into his deck, his duel disk began to shuffle the cards randomly.

"This card allows me to draw the same amount of cards from my deck equal to the amount I've sent back! It all comes down to this!" Drawing five cards from his deck, Darby grinned as he stared at Yuji with malicious intent.

"Time for the ultimate comeback! I activate the spell card, Ancient Rules, from my hand! This card lets me special summon a level five or higher normal monster from my hand! It's time for you to bear witness to my Gate Card!"

"Gate Card?!" Yuji uttered as he was reminded of Undead Dullahan and it's power, causing him to fearfully anticipate the monster that was about to be summoned.

"For truth and justice! Don the weapon that will cut the path to a new day! I call on you, Dawning Arms Legend!!!

Dawning Arms Legend / Level 6

Earth / Warrior / Normal

ATK: 2300 / DEF: 2000

"This lone warrior wanders lost battlefields, searching for the sword it once wielded."

A humanoid knight in golden armor stepped onto the field. It held no weapons, wielding only its fists.

"Another normal monster?! Well, it doesn't matter, your monster doesn't have enough attack to match my Pyressor, and it has no effects, you're cornered!"

Darby laughed. "Don't underestimate my cards! I activate the equip spells, "Axe of Despair" and "Big Bang Shot" to my Dawning Arms Legend! Axe of Despair boots my monster's attack by one-thousand! Big Bang Shot boosts its attack by an additional four-hundred, and generously allows it to deal piercing damage!"

A giant axe descended from the sky, as the golden knight reached for it and clutched it in his hands, he was surrounded by a fiery aura.

Dawning Arms Legend

ATK: 3700 / DEF: 2000

"Thirty-seven hundred attack points?!" Shocked by the sudden increase in Legend's attack, Yuji braced himself for its imminent attack. However, despite the daunting challenge before him, the young duelist was sure of victory. Even if Pyressor Fighter was attacked, it would inflict four-thousand points of damage on its destruction.

"I'm not done yet!"

"What?!"

"I use my final equip spell, Drain Armor! I'll equip it to your Pyressor!" Darby declared as he cockily smiled.

"You're putting it on my monster?! What are you planning?!" Yuji angrily inquired.

"A monster equipped with Drain Armor cannot be destroyed by battle! However...it has its effects negated!!!"

"Why wouldn't you use that on your own monster? Since it has no eff...OH NO!!!" Yuji shouted as he realized what had just happened.

"So you finally get it." Darby said as he scratched his nose. "Even though your Pyressor has a ridiculous summoning condition, I knew it had to have a powerful effect to make up for it! Now it's helpless. And since it can't be destroyed by battle, I'll just keep attacking over it until you lose!"

Elsewhere, downtown of Roulette City, Setsuna was strolling home alongside her friends from school. In the corner of her eye, she saw a mysterious individual watching her from afar. Quickly ending the conversation with her acquaintances, she waved farewell as they parted ways.

"Greetings, Setsuna."

"What do you want, Seker?"

The girl turned around to face the cloaked emissary, who smirked at her irritation.

"You still ignore your calling. Fate should be faced, not avoided."

Setsuna scoffed. "I don't want anything to do with duel monsters, no matter how many times you try to drag me into this, the answer will stay the same. Leave me alone!"

Turning away, Seker paused for a moment before continuing to speak. "I know you've seen the future. The horrors to come. Only the combined might of the chosen can stop it."

"...I know. But it isn't my problem." Setsuna murmured as she lowered her head .

"Of course. Others will deal with it. But how many will be lost in the process? Letting your past haunt you is a sign of weakness." Seker reproached.

"Enough! Leave! Don't ever show your face to me again, or I'll show you the monster you want to see…"

Setsuna chided.

Without a word, Seker began to walk away from Setsuna, before stopping once more.

"If you want to help your dear friend Yuji, you'll reconsider that decision."

"What did you say?!" As Setsuna quickly turned to face Seker, he vanished in a flash of light.

The duel between Yuji and Darby continued, with Darby preparing to turn the tides on his opponent.

"Break through, my legend! Attack his Pyressor Fighter!"

Bounding into the air with it's axe, Dawning Arms Legend slammed down it's weapon into Pyressor Fighter, causing an explosion. Due to Drain Armor, it was not destroyed, but Yuji still took the damage.

Yuji: 2700 LP

Darby: 3600 LP

Brought to his knees from the force, Yuji found himself enjoying the duel. "That was an amazing combo, I was really caught off guard by that."

"I don't need your patronizing! At this rate you are finished, you can't hope to match a whopping thirty-seven hundred attack points! My Dawning Arms is the strongest! I end my turn! Your move!" Darby jeered.

"No, I really did mean it. You are a great duelist." A sly smirk emerged on Yuji's face. "But you've still got a long way, because I've already won."

Darby took a step backwards. "What?!"

"My turn, I draw!!!" Triumphantly drawing a card from his deck, Yuji leaped to his feet in exhilaration as he revealed the card to himself.

"Let's go! I flip over my set card, Ressoriboh!"

Ressoriboh / Level 3

Fire / Fiend / Effect

ATK: 300 / DEF: 500

"I can special summon this card from my hand by tributing two "ressor" monsters on my side of the field. I sacrifice my Warressor Soldier and my Ressoriboh! Stamp out their fire, Suppressor Sentry!!!"

Suppressor Sentry / Level 5

Light / Machine / Effect

ATK: 2000 / DEF: 1000

A gargantuan metal golem stepped onto the field.

"Now, I activate its special ability! Once per turn, I can negate the effect of a face-up card on the field! I choose Drain Armor!"

"How did I let this happen?!" Darby wailed.

"You were so focused on beating my ace with yours, that you neglected to attack my other monsters, despite the fact you would have been able to deal more damage! Also, if you had destroyed one of my monsters, I wouldn't have been able to summon Sentry without tributing Pyressor...and then I wouldn't be able to use its effect to beat you!" Yuji yelled.

"It doesn't matter what effect it has, my monster is still stronger!"

"We'll see about that. Battle!"

Extending his arm forward, Yuji got ready for his final move.

"Pyressor Fighter! Attack Dawning Arms Legend! Ignite Knuckle!!!"

The restrained pyromancer dashed forward, with its wings of flame jetting it across the field like a missile towards its target. Coating its fist in inferno, Pyressor hurled an explosive punch at the warrior.

"You'd destroy your own monster?! What are you planning?!" Darby fearfully asked as the two monsters clashed.

"When Pyressor gets destroyed by battle, it leaves behind a little gift! You take damage equal to the amount of life points I used to summon it! In other words, four-thousand points of damage!" Yuji proudly declared.

"That's...that's...that's broken!!!" Pyressor's armor began to shatter, and like an eruption, the monster detonated, resulting in a massive explosion of fire. Enveloping everything on the field, Darby was sent flying backwards as he had lost the duel.

Yuji: 1500 LP

Darby: 0 LP

Winner: Yuji Nensho

Sighing in relief for a brief moment, Yuji jumped into the air in exhilaration as he celebrated his victory.

"Yes! I won a duel! Now I can travel to that other world, I can't wait to see it!"

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"

Yuji glanced over at Darby, who was sobbing on the ground. Walking over to the fallen duelist, he reached out a hand to his former opponent. "That was a good duel."

Swiping away Yuji's sportsmanship, Darby began to boil with rage.

"You don't get it! All that talk before was a lie! I've never won a duel here!"

Reeling back his outstretched hand, Yuji stood in silence as Darby continued.

"Ever since I first got into Duel Monsters...I've loved normal monsters. They symbolize what I enjoy the most about the game, the stories that are made. In and out of the game. I always enjoyed reading the text on the monsters and learning more about them, it made me feel a connection to them."

Pausing for a moment as he choked on his own words, he resumed.

"But nowadays, normal monsters rarely see play, because they don't have effects. They are considered a waste of space. That made me mad. I thought to myself, this game has lost a lot of heart, didn't it? People only care about ending duels as fast as they can, or getting obsessed with how many summoning methods they can abuse in one turn...it shouldn't be about that! It should be about having fun, and creating bonds!"

"I...understand what you mean. It's not exactly the same thing, but I know what it's like to have someone call your cards useless. But it isn't true!" Yuji shouted.

"I believed that, I still do. But every now and then, in moments like this I've wavered. In the past, I've tried to use effect monsters, and I actually managed to get some wins, but it never felt satisfying. I wanted to be a true duelist, I wanted to be the champion, the one that demolished the hierarchy with normal monsters, and them alone! But it's just a dream..." Darby muttered as he lowered his head to the ground.

"Shut up!" Yuji yelled. "It isn't a stupid fantasy, I've seen it in your duel with me! You caught me off guard with your skill, and your valor and pride in your cards was daunting! Yeah, you did lose pretty badly, but all I think you need is some fine tuning to your deck, I think it can work, you just need to find a way!"

"You..really think so?" Darby said as he wiped tears from his eyes.

"Yes! I also wish to be champion someday! But to be honest, I'm not the best duelist myself, I just get lucky." Yugi said as he let out a light chuckle. "But I think it's fate that we met, rogue duelists, trying to make it to the top! I think if we join forces, we can help each other get stronger, what do you say?!" Reaching out his hand once more, Yuji awaited a response.

"Interesting. Yeah, let's do it!!!" Darby took Yuji's hand and raised himself up, the two grinned at each other before bursting into laughter.

Yuji's duel disk suddenly lit up as a holographic map hovered above it.

"This must be where I have to go next. Time to learn what this place is really about."

"Can I come along?" Darby asked.

"Sure thing! I'll also help you out, I'll make sure you get a win so you can enter the other world too! Leave it all to me!" Yuji shouted as he began to sprint to his destination.

"Wait up! I can't run fast after losing a duel! Hitting the ground like that hurts!" Darby yelled as he ran after his new ally.


	3. EGRESS3

Chapter 3: Judgement Game

Subsequently after their fated duel, the two duelists had arrived at their destination. Trekking into the heart of the otherworldly metropolis, and into a grand skyscraper that pierced the heavens themselves. Within this titanic labyrinth was nothing organic, other than the people that dwelled inside. Everything from the smooth floors to the spacious walls were constructed by pure, unblemished steel. Holographic monitors displayed duels that took place in real time from around EGRESS. Others gathered to watch said duels, as the building's personnel robotically roamed, monitoring the actions of those within. Stepping out of a halting elevator, Yuji and Darby walked into an omnibus room, which possessed a different atmosphere from the rest of the building.

Technologically advanced in appearance, but with a mystical air. An unknown text was inscribed upon the walls, glowing with radiance. The room had darker colors, instead of silver, the walls were coated in a shimmering dark blue, the floor was the same color, but along the middle of the room was a violet pathway which led to a set of stairs. At the top was a sealed door, which Seker stood in front of.

Before they could make their way any further, two guards intercepted their advancement.

"Welcome, you are finally ready to witness the truth."

Seker said as he descended the steps, making his way towards the young duelists. Making a gesture with his hand, without saying a word the guards stepped out of the way allowing the two to pass.

"No more games Seker, you've had me waiting long enough, whatever you have behind that door, better be worth it!" Yuji exclaimed.

"Of course." Seker nodded. Turning to face Darby, Seker gazed at him, scanning him up and down before turning back to Yuji. "Only those who have passed the trial can be here. He must leave."

"HUH?!" Darby said as the guards suddenly grabbed him by the arms.

"O-oh, I forgot about that…" Yuji said, letting out a nervous laugh.

Flailing his limbs about as he was being dragged out of the room, Darby continued in his protest. "No! Please! The meta is too broken! There is too much Danger!! Don't send me back out there! Yuji, please, help me!!!"

Glancing at Seker for a moment, who simply smirked at the situation, Yuji rushed over to Darby as he held onto the wall as the guards attempted to pull him out the entrance.

"It's not much but…" Pulling out some cards one of the pouches on his belt, Yuji quickly searched through them before handing over two cards. "These should help your deck a little, you'll have to get lucky to get the most out of it though."

The guards glanced at Seker, who nodded, before letting go of Darby as he dusted himself off. "Get your damn hands off me!"

Taking the cards from Yuji, he squinted at them for a moment before replying. "What the felgrand can I do with this?!"

"Like I said, you'll have to be lucky. But I think you can pull it off. I said I'd help you win, and this is a start. When I get back, I'll tell you the strategy you'll need to have with those cards. In the meantime, try having some duels, you might win." Yuji held out his arm, giving a thumbs up. "I believe in you!"

Inspired by Yuji's encouragement, Darby saluted back, and began to run off. "I'll beat someone's ash blossom!!!" He yelled as the two guards quickly chased after him.

The doors at the entrance proceeded to slide closed, sealing both Yuji and Seker alone.

"Sorry about that, that guy is another level of energetic."

"It's no matter. Besides, I hope a victory does befall him, the sooner the better."

Turning to face the mysterious door at the end of the room, Seker began to walk towards it.

"It is time, follow me, Yuji."

Without saying a word Yuji tailed behind Seker, who stopped under the steps leading to the door. Ascending the stairs slowly, Yuji halted as he stood before the entrance.

"Your Gate Card, bring it before the entry." Seker ordered.

Reaching into his pocket, Yuji pulled out Pyressor Fighter. "So that's why it's called a Gate Card?"

"Yes. They are mysterious, special cards that have the power to transverse dimensions. There is still much we don't know about them, but they can bestow their might onto their wielders."

"Neat." Yuji smirked. "What kind of world is behind this door? Is it like this one?"

"You'll understand when you arrive. However…" Pausing for a moment, Seker continued as Yuji looked back anxiously. "Once you go to this world you cannot return."

"What?!?!" Yuji gasped as he swiftly spun around. "What do you mean I can't come back?!"

"You can't return, unless you complete the trial that will be bestowed upon you. The Judgement Game." Seker uttered.

"Judgement Game? The hell is that?!"

Seker continued. "Your Gate Card, Pyressor Fighter, is connected to the world you'll travel to. However, you can only use its power in our mortal realm as of now. When you arrive, you will be thrust into conflict, where you must prove yourself worthy of it."

"Conflict? Surely you mean a duel, right?" Yuji nervously asked.

"Yes…of course." Seker ominously grinned.

"Then it should be easy! No sweat, let's do this!" Holding out Pyressor, the card began to glow with a crimson red light, as the symbols around the room and on the door began to shine. The gate began to slowly unlock, revealing an inexplicable spacial breach, a mystical, luminous blue portal of energy unveiled itself.

"I wish you luck, Yuji Nensho." Said Seker.

"You already know that I've got all of it." Yuji snarkily remarked before leaping into the portal.

Almost instantly, Yuji was engulfed in a blinding radiance, however just as quickly as it arrived, it had departed. The light faded, becoming pure darkness. The feeling of floating vanished as he felt solid earth underneath his feet. Standing alone in silence, Yuji realized that he had already been transported.

"Where am I?!?!" Yuji yelled in fear, which only accumulated as he was startled by his own words as they echoed. Quickly pulling out his duel disk, he turned it on, using it's lighting function. With his sight restored, Yuji witnessed that he was surrounded by stone. Inside of a cave, the only sounds that accompanied his breath were the sound of dripping water and the sounds of wind weakly brushing through the corridors.

"This is the worst, spawn point, ever! If those movies taught me anything though…" Placing his index finger into his mouth for a second, he lifted it into the air, feeling for the direction of the breeze that traveled through the tunnel. Feeling the air coming ahead of him, Yuji proceeded to walk forward.

After a couple of minutes, Yuji continued to make his way through the cave, the exit being nowhere in sight.

"This is so damn taxing, the way out can't be that far can it?! How far underground did that shady guy teleport me into?!" Stopping for a moment, Yuji began to panic. "Oh shit. Did I charge my duel disk?! W-what if the light goes out? What if I'm trapped here? The ground is cold, the air is brisk, this place is shit! I'll definitely be done for here! I didn't even pack any food either! No rice balls, no cup ramen, no cheeseburgers?! Oh no!" Taking off his backpack, Yuji frenziedly dug through it, searching for anything to consume.

"Thank Osiris!!!" Finding a bottle of water, Yuji gleefully shouted. "Now I can calm down." Leaning against the wall of rock behind him, Yuji began to gulp down the beverage. Before he could finish, he felt something touch his shoulder.

"Huh? Did a rock fall on me or something?" Moving his light over, he tried to see what had come into contact with him. Yuji jumped back, screaming inaudible words as he came face-to-face with a skeleton.

"OH SHIT!!!" Stumbling backwards in fear, Yuji dropped his bottled water as the skeleton approached him. It was moving, despite having no muscle, or anything living to command it. The wight wore a torn purple robe, which covered most of its body.

"W-wait a minute, is that Skull Servant?!?!" Yuji yelled as he saw several glowing eyes piercing through the darkness behind the limping doomed that drew near. Before he could even analyze the situation Yuji found himself running for his life through the cave's shadows.

"How is a skeleton moving? How is Skull Servant real?! Why was it Skull Servant of all monsters to be real?! Why not Dark Magician Girl, everyone loves Dark Magician Girl!!!" Somewhere in his mind, Yuji blamed his current situation on Kyohei, who with his zombie deck probably cursed him to this fate. Hearing the sounds of countless unknown monsters behind him, Yuji sprinted even faster, if he was a D-Wheel, he would have surpassed twelve speed counters. Looking ahead, Yuji caught a glimpse of a faint light in the distance. Mustering up all of his energy, with a guttural growl he made a final stretch before leaping out of the caves entrance, and into the light.

Tumbling onto the grass, Yuji quickly collected himself and gawked at the cave's opening. He saw the crimson eyes pierce through the dark, only for them to retreat and vanish. They most likely could not enter into the sunlight. Making it to safety, Yuji collapsed to the ground, resting after the marathon he just took part in.

*

Back in the world of EGRESS, Darby walked the streets after being kicked out of the tower by security. Holding the two cards that were given to him, he pondered about their usefulness.

"These don't really seem that good, but then again, what do I have to lose?"

At that moment, someone stepped in front of Darby, blocking his advancement. Looking up at the person, he was a tall, robust man with a tattoo of a skull on his arm. He wore a black jacket with the sleeves ripped off, with white jeans and black fingerless gloves. His eyes were a dull gray and the man sported a black mohawk.

Intimidated, Darby tried to walk around the man, only for him to intercept him once more.

"Who are you? W-what do you want?" Darby nervously asked.

"They call me Bone Breaker. Part of the Skull Servant gang. Tell me, you wouldn't happen to know someone called Yuji now would you?" The muscular man spoke.

Darby gulped. "Um...I do, but I don't know where he is!"

"Sure you don't." Breaker took a step forward, getting into Darby's face as he cowered. "We saw you walking with him earlier! Don't play dumb! Ever since a few days ago, rumors have been going around that our leader lost to some rookie named Yuji! Then he just vanished! We haven't seen our king since!"

"But I had nothing to do with that! I just met him, please I don't know anything! Just leave me alone, I'll give you my lunch money!!"

"Shut up! You don't get to disgrace us, the top faction in EGRESS and in Roulette, and live to tell the story! When we find that runt, we are going to make him pay!"

"I won't let you, if you want to get at him, you're going to have to go through me first!" Darby activated his duel disk, putting the cards that Yuji gave him into his deck. "We're going to be the top duelists in the world someday, and that's not about to get stopped by you!"

"Ha!" Bone Breaker activated his own duel disk in response, which was a black D-Pad model. "Some random losers like you two will never be the best! When I beat you, I'll force the location of your little friend out of your carcass!!!"

"DUEL"

Darby: 8000 LP

Bone Breaker: 8000 LP

"I'll go first, you big freak!" Darby shouted angrily as he drew his starting hand. Looking at his cards, he saw that he had the card that Yuji gave him.

"Just my luck. Here goes nothing! I activate the continuous spell card from my hand, Heart Of The Underdog!!!"

Bone Breaker guffawed at Darby's move. "You definitely are an underdog alright! Who uses that card?!"

Darby sneered at his opponent. "Well you know what they say, the bigger they come, the harder they get wrecked in a duel. I'm not done yet! I summon Dark Blade!!!"

Dark Blade / Level 4

Dark / Warrior / Normal

ATK: 1800 / DEF: 1500

"They say he is a dragon-manipulating warrior from the Dark World. His attack is tremendous, using his great swords with vicious power."

A warrior wearing obsidian armor donning dual swords appeared onto the field.

"That's all I've got for now, I end my turn." Darby said.

"Pathetic, that was the lamest turn I've ever seen, let me show you a real deck! I draw!!!" Bone Breaker pulled a card from his deck with sheer force. He grinned as he revealed the card to himself. "Perfect. I use the field spell, Zombie World!!!"

The area around the two duelists began to change, leaving only a world of despair where only the deceased remained.

"This card makes it so that all the monsters on the field and in our graveyards get treated as zombies!! Next, I normal summon Gozuki!!

Gozuki / Level 4

Earth / Zombie / Effect

ATK: 1700 / DEF: 800

A minotaur-like creature wielding a giant hammer rose from the depths of the underworld.

"During the main phase I can send a zombie monster from my deck to my graveyard! I choose Glow-Up Bloom!!!"

Glow-Up Bloom / Level 1

Dark / Zombie / Effect

ATK: 0 / DEF: 0

"When this card is sent to the graveyard when Zombie World is on the field, I can special summon one level five or higher zombie monster from my deck! Arise, Ryu Kokki!!!"

Ryu Kokki / Level 6

Dark / Zombie / Effect

ATK: 2400 / DEF: 2000

A grotesque creature made from assimilated skulls creeped from beyond the grave.

"He brought out a powerful monster that easily?! That's...that's insane!" Darby was shocked.

"An amateur such as yourself never stood a ghost of a chance! It's battle time! Ryu Kokki, attack Dark Blade!"

Bone Breaker commanded as his monster lunged forward, destroying Dark Blade with a single tremendous blow.

"You're up Gozuki! Bring the hammer down!" The inhuman beast charged forward, swinging its hammer with great might. Darby was knocked back from the strike causing him to fall to the ground.

Darby: 5700 LP

Bone Breaker: 8000 LP

Laid out on his back after the attack, Darby began to lose faith in his skills as a duelist.

"Am I really going to lose...again?"

*

In the mysterious world Yuji had been thrust into, he journeyed through a lush forest, attempting to find the objective to complete the judgement game. Yuji stepped over fallen logs and leaves, as he shuffled through detritus. Compared to the stale air of the cave, the forest air was damp, with the fresh smell of herbs.

"I've been walking for around thirty minutes, or was it twenty? No signs of life other than all these trees, and no internet either…I'm in hell!!!"

As he travelled further into the forest, an uneasy feeling began to arise within Yuji. Like a black hole, he felt as if he was being drawn into a darkness with each movement forward. Suddenly, Yuji heard a faint rustling of leaves in the distance. Not knowing what approached, he quickly hid behind a tree and stalked the area of suspicion.

Emerging from the bushes ahead, it seemed to be a young woman, however her appearance was uncanny. Her skin was a magenta color, she had long platinum colored hair that reached her lower back. The girl also had on a tan robe that extended to her feet. The mysterious girl fell to the ground, seemingly exhausted from running.

"What the...another one? First those monsters in the cave, now this? I mean it's no Dark Magician Girl, but she seems like she won't be as dangerous as the literal undead." Yuji gulped as he shook with fear. "But still, I shouldn't judge anything I see here based on appearances, I don't even know where I am. Regardless, I won't get anywhere by avoiding everything! Come on Yuji, show some guts!!!" The boy said to himself as he attempted to muster up the courage to leave his hiding spot.

Stepping out from behind the tree, the sound of the crunching leaves alerted the girl, who turned quickly to face the direction of the noise. Upon seeing Yuji, she went into a panic and began to back away.

"No! Get away from me!" The girl shouted as she shut her eyes, and shielded herself with her arms.

Startled at the fact that the otherworldly being could speak, let alone in the same language as him, Yuji quickly collected himself and reached his arm out to the young woman.

"H-hey, I'm not here to hurt you, I don't even know where I am right now. I guess you could call me a wandering stranger."

Upon hearing those words, the girl peeled through her fingers and glared at Yuji. She observed that he was merely human, despite having a strange, unorthodox hairstyle. She glanced at his outstretched arm, and upon seeing the duel disk attached to his arm, her crimson eyes lit up as she suddenly grabbed his hand.

"That artifact you possess, you must be one of the heroes of legend...please I beg of you, help us!"

"Huh?" Yuji titled his head. "What are you talking about? You mean this thing? It's a duel disk, I don't know about any artifacts."

"Duel...disk?" The girl looked up to him in confusion, still holding onto his hand firmly.

"Ok, now this is getting confusing." Yuji could not comprehend how someone could not know what a duel disk was. This world was connected to EGRESS, surely this world was created with duel monsters in mind, unless this world was not a game, but something else entirely.

Noticing that he and the girl had been holding hands for a while, Yuji became flustered. "Alright, let's help you up now." Bringing the girl to her feet, the two stood quietly for a moment before Yuji broke the silence.

"First things first, what is your name? You can't go asking for help without identifying yourself first." Yuji said as he rested his hands in his pockets.

"My name is Agneya. I hail from the Vulcan Plains."

"Uh huh, I have no idea where that is." Yuji mutteredto himself. Agneya stared intensely at Yuji, as if she expected a response. Upon noticing her gaze Yuji snapped back into reality.

"My name is Yuji, Yuji Nensho. I, uh, hail from Roulette City."

"...Where?" Agneya asked.

"That's what I should be saying!!!" Yuji internally screamed. "Anyway, you told me you wanted my help, didn't you Agneya? With what I may ask?"

Agneya clenched her fists. "My village is being attacked, by the War Ogres."

Yuji was stunned in confusion. "Ogres?!"

"Yes. They are obsessed with battle, only destruction pleases them. They've brought countless towns to ruin, and now they've come for mine. I tried to fight them off, but all I know are low level flame attacks. I was useless...I fled hoping to find something or someone that could save us, and I've found you!" Agneya took hold of Yuji's hand once more and raised it to her chest.

"Please, hero of legend, vanquish them completely!"

"I'm sorry." Yuji looked away from Agneya. "I'm not this legendary hero or whatever you think I am. I'm just a duelist."

"But, that artifact you have around your wrist! I've read about it in stories, long ago, beings wearing those came to this world, and saved it from calamity! Are you not one of those heroes?"

Yuji was intrigued by what Agneya had said. Apparently he was not the only duelist to have come to this world. It was information that was somewhat obvious, considering Seker had sent others to this world as well. But the way Agneya spoke of them made it seem like duelists were a myth of some sort. It was possible she never had seen a duelist prior to himself. But that still didn't explain how apparently duel disks were some ancient legend in this world. If so, how long did EGRESS exist for? What was this world really, where monsters seemed to be real? What was the connection between this world and the real one? Despite Yuji's questions, he knew he had to complete the "Judgement Game" to learn anything more. Perhaps assisting the pleading maiden was the mission he had to complete.

"I'm not one of those heroes. But I am a duelist, the strongest one as a matter of fact, for you, I'll take down these War Ogres! Just lead the way!" Yuji declared.

Agneya's eyes became misty before she quickly composed herself. "I'll trust in whatever a duelist is...and I'll lead you to my village, follow me!"

Agneya dragged Yuji by the arm as the two began to run in the direction of the village under attack.

*

Within EGRESS, Darby had returned to his feet after Bone Breaker's last attack, who had since ended his turn.

"Come on, come on! Did I scare you that bad with combo that you're so afraid to make your move?" The hooligan scoffed. "I'll tell you what, surrender, and I'll promise to go easy on your little friend Yuji!"

"No way! I'll never surrender!!!" Darby stared at his deck, he had no monsters in his hand. Only spell cards. Even if he drew a monster next turn, it would only go so far. He needed his equip spells to make any of his monsters be able compete with effect monsters. Without them he could do nothing but defend. But if he drew another spell he would have no monsters to use it on, his field would be wide open. He was basically stalling his defeat in either scenario. Despite this despair. this fear of losing again. Yuji's words of encouragement resonated with Darby, giving him the willpower to continue.

"I'll trust in myself as a duelist, and I'll match you Yuji! I'm not about to get left behind! Let's do this! I draw!!!"

Drawing a normal monster, Darby remembered the effect of "Heart of The Underdog."

"I'll give it a shot! I activate, Heart of The Underdog! During my draw phase, if I draw a normal monster, I can reveal it, and draw another card! The card I drew was Archfiend Soldier! So now I can draw again!"

Archfiend Soldier / Level 4

Dark / Fiend / Normal

ATK: 1900 / DEF: 1500

"So what?! What is another card going to do? Nothing!!!" Bone Breaker yelled.

"Let's find out!!! Draw!" Darby pulled another card from his deck and looked at it. Wearing a devilish smirk, he revealed the card to his opponent. "A normal monster card again! Trance the Magic Swordsman!"

Trance the Magic Swordsman / Level 6

Earth / Spellcaster / Normal

ATK: 2600 / DEF: 200

"T-twice in a row? You just got lucky!" Bone Breaker's eyes twitched.

"I draw!!! Another normal monster! Neo Aqua Madoor!!!"

Neo Aqua Madoor / Level 6

Water / Spellcaster / Normal

ATK: 1200 / DEF: 3000

"Wait a minute!!!" The delinquent shouted as he took a step back. "Don't tell me, all the monsters in your deck are normal monsters?!?!"

Darby grinned. "That's right! I'm not done yet! Once again, I draw!" Darby continuously drew card after card, much to Bone Breaker's distaste. His hand became cluttered as he eventually practically held his entire deck in his hand, with there only being four cards left.

"When will this end?!?!" Breaker angrily shouted.

"I draw!!! Another mon-" Darby cut himself off as he realized he had drawn a spell card instead. It was the other card Yuji gave him.

Breaker began to laugh hysterically. "Look at you, you've almost decked yourself out. I three turns if I don't deplete your life you'll lose automatically with no cards to draw! And it doesn't matter how stacked your hand is, not only is it filled with pathetic normal monsters, when you end your turn you'll have to send all of that to the graveyard! Good riddance punk!"

The strategy intended with these cards was interesting. "Heart of The Underdog" can allow someone to draw many monster cards, with the exception that they are normal cards. In Darby's normal monster centric deck, this card boosted draw power immensely. It also lessened the chances of him drawing into unfavorable cards, as well as giving him access to a plethora of his monsters. However there was one flaw, with the amount of cards he had amassed. At the end phase, he'd have to discard cards until he reached the hand limit. That is, if he didn't have a certain other card.

"I activate the continuous spell, Infinite Cards!!! This gets rid of the card limit in both our hands!"

"What?! What kind of nonsense is going on?!"

"The kind that's going to win me this duel. I set a monster face-down and end my turn."

Bone Breaker growled as he clenched his fist. "You skilless runt, you've only increased the beating you're gonna get! I draw!" Pulling a card from his deck, Bone Breaker laughed as he revealed the card to himself.

"I set one card face down in my spell and trap zone." The card he had drawn was "Divine Wrath." Bone Breaker didn't believe that Darby only had normal monsters in his deck, there was no way. He must have been planning to summon some type of boss monster that could take advantage of all the cards in his hand. It was the only logical explanation. Whenever that monster would be summoned, he would destroy it. "Let's break it down! Gozuki, it's hammer time! Attack his face down monster!!!" The set monster was revealed to be Guardragon Justicia.

Guardragon Justicia / Level 2

Water / Dragon / Tuner / Normal

ATK: 0 / DEF: 2100

Upon striking the dragon, Gozuki was hurled back by a barrier of energy as Bone Breaker shielded himself from the damage.

Darby: 5700 LP

Bone Breaker: 7600 LP

Furious, Breaker ordered his other monster to finish the task. "Damn you! Ryu Kokki, rip that lizard in half!"

The giant demonic zombie shredded Guardragon Justicia in two with its claws, made from the bones of fallen dragons.

"Next turn I'll hit you with the heavy duty from the start! I end my turn!"

*

Having followed Agneya through the dense forest for seemingly ages, Yuji came to a stop as Agneya halted her advance, turning towards him.

"It's just beyond those trees, we must h-"

A loud boom echoed through the area, visible smoke clouded the skies ahead of the two.

"What was that?! That definitely didn't sound good!" Yuji exclaimed.

Without saying a word Agneya dashed towards the source of the explosion, with Yuji quickly following. Emerging from the forest, the two reached the outskirts of a nearby village, one that was in the process of decimation. In the distance the sounds of clanging metal were heard, as well as the smell of smoke as flames ravaged the wooden huts that formed the small town.

Entering the village, several of the civilians were engaging the attackers in battle, while others hid and fled. The denizens seemed to be humanoid, but like Agneya, they had inhuman differences. Despite being surrounded by chaos, Yuji followed Agneya until they reached deeper into the town, where many fallen civilians were left defeated on the ground. Gazing around in horror, Agneya gasped as she looked at one of the wounded people, quickly running over to them and kneeling over, embracing them tightly.

"Father, please, say something!!!"

Cradling the man's head in her arms, he weakly opened his eyes, looking up at the one who awakened him. Realizing it was his daughter, tears welled in his eyes as a soft smile formed from his lips.

"You're safe...Agneya…" The man utterly weakly.

"What happened?! I thought you already departed from here!"

"I...tried." Agneya's father let out a cough. "But the others were cornered by the ogres, I held them off...but I wasn't strong enough to last for long…"

"Don't worry, I'll take it from here. Just save your energy. I've brought help." The girl said as her father looked past her, and at Yuji. His eyes widened at the sight of his duel disk.

"Could it be…" Another loud noise resounded, interrupting him mid-sentence. The ground began to shake periodically, getting louder and louder each time.

"Is something coming?" Yuji alerted.

"Please, you have to run!" The man mustered his strength, grabbing onto Agneya's shoulder, with terror in his eyes. "The one that defeated us, was the general of the War Ogres, you don't have the attack power to match his, leave me and flee,I beg of you!"

"I won't leave you, father!" Agneya pleaded.

With an earth-shaking stomp, a massive monster emerged from behind a nearby hut. Looking at the being, it was around ten feet tall, with a single horn spiking from the center of its skull. It had dark grey skin, with a violet armor covering its body. In his hand, was a long, black club with sharp spikes protruding around it. The beast-warrior looked down at Yuji with intrigue, before looking towards Agneya and smirked.

"So you run only to come back to your grave." The ogre spoke.

"Begone you heartless monster! You'll pay for what you've done!" Agneya yelled in fury.

"Oh. You're brave for someone on such a low level. Maybe I need to teach you your place, by destroying you!" The ogre took a step forward as the ground shook, making his way towards his imminent victim. Yuji slid into his path, intercepting him. The ogre looked down at him in annoyance, before breaking into laughter.

"What is it boy? You wish to meet your end as well?"

Yuji could not sit by and watch someone hurt an innocent, or the defenseless, even in this strange world. The only way he could escape this world was to complete the Judgement Game, potentially getting squashed by a War Orge would stop that from happening. But his intuition told him that this had to be part of the trial, or it could have been a trap all along, and he could have just been foolishly following Seker's lies, walking into his doom in this monster filled world. But either way, there was no option but to fight. He had a theory on this world. When he traveled to EGRESS, he found that it was not only far more advanced than the normal world, it was designed with Duel Monster's in mind. From the skyline that resembled "Future Fusion" to the portals that could send people to different dimensions. It was a bridge between earth and this world. But despite their differences, there was one thing that could be done in both those worlds that could be used to solve any problem.

"Not quite. If you want to get to those two, you'll have to duel me!"

"Ha! A duel? Sure, it'll be the last one you have however."

"Alright you big oaf, let's get to it!!" Activating his duel disk, he shuffled his deck and drew his starting hand. "Bring it o-"

Yuji cut himself off as he watched the War Ogre lift his club in the air, preparing to strike. Instinctively dodging, he leaped out of the way as the heavy weapon came crashing onto the ground, encompassing Yuji in a cloud of dust. As the dust began to clear, Yuji glanced at the small crater created from the blow, he froze in fear as he had narrowly escaped being flattened.

"Wait...you don't know what a duel is?!"

"I do!!!"

Before Yuji could react, emerging from the dust was the club once again, this time Yuji was unable to dodge, bracing himself for the impact, he closed his eyes, shielding himself with his arms. At that moment, one of the cards in his hand was encompassed in a gold refulgence, and as a beam of light it quickly intercepted the attack from the War Ogre.

"What?! A kuriboh?!?!" The ogre yelled.

Yuji opened his eyes to see one of his monsters, Ressoriboh, blocking the club with a barrier of energy.

"Again?!" Remembering his duel with Kyohei, he recalled when both Undead Dullahan and Pyressor Fighter clashed with seemingly real force, Yuji realized this was not a game. Seker said it himself. Apparently, in this world, duels were real fights.

"That was close, thanks for the save, Ressoriboh!" Yuji exclaimed as the spherical monster squeaked in response.

The giant fumed with rage, swinging his club once more, this time the strike broke through the barrier, shattering it like glass. The impact knocked Ressoriboh backwards, who transformed into a ray of light that raced back into the card it came from.

"Dammit, his attack power was too low!" Pulling a card from his deck, he revealed it to himself. It was Pyressor Fighter. Placing the card down onto his duel disk, he called out his ace monster. "Time for the big guns, you big freak! Burn him away!" Yuji was met with silence, and nothing occurred, the monster hadn't materialized as it usually would. "W-what's going on?! Why won't you come out?!"

In his moment of confusion, the Ogre raised his fist, preparing to crush Yuji with a heavy blow. Before it could make contact, a small fireball cannoned into the beast-warrior, causing him to stumble backwards in pain. Searching for the origin of the attack, his eyes locked onto Agneya, who's hand was smoldering from the launch of flame.

"Yuji, get out of here!" She yelled.

Coming to his senses, Yuji realized his mistake, he couldn't summon Pyressor without two tributes, or by its effect. But he was unaware of how that would work in this world, and he didn't have the time to find out. Drawing another card from his deck, he summoned Warressor Soldier into reality.

"Attack the War Ogre, show em' what you've got!"

The warrior charged forward clashing weapons with the Orge, although the warrior was more agile, he struggled against the giant's heavy strikes, as his axe began to chip and shatter with every blow blocked, his attack power wasn't high enough. Looking through his deck, Yuji attempted to find a card that would turn the tables. His eyes widened as he gazed upon the trap card, Rising Energy, by discarding one card, he could boost a monster's attack by fifteen-hundred points. But before he could use the card, his monster was destroyed, sending it back to its card.

"Pathetic, such weak opponents! Soon it'll be your turn to rot in the cemetery!" The ogre maliciously boasted.

Warressor Soilder was Yuji's strongest level four monster, his other monster's required tributes, however any monster he would summon would be destroyed far too quickly to set up a tribute summon. At the current rate, he was bound to lose. At that moment, a peculiar idea sprung into his mind...what if he used the trap card on himself? Rules slightly differed in this world, so it may be possible. After all, he was cursed with immense luck.

"Here goes nothing! I send one card from my hand to the graveyard, to activate Rising Energy...on myself!!!" An aura of flames erupted around Yuji, as he felt power coursing through his body.

"What?! You can use trap magic of that level?! Impossible!" The War Orge bellowed as he charged towards Yuji once more, preparing the strike him down once more.

"It's all or nothing! I'll show you how it's like to get stomped on!" Yuji sprinted towards the War Ogre, dodging his attack, he leaped into the air, striking the giant in the face with a fist full of energy. Upon impact, the Ogre screamed in agony as he began to burn to cinders, before disintegrating in an explosion. Knocked back by the force, Yuji crashed into the ground unconscious.

*

"What was that about me being a loser?!"

"I-Impossible! How did this happen, what kind of damn deck are you running?!"

On Darby's field was "Rabidragon", which was equipped with "Mage Power", "Trance The Magic Swordsman", which was equipped with "United We Stand", and "Dawning Arms Legend", which was as equipped with "Axe Of Despair."

Rabidragon

ATK: 5450 / DEF: 2900

Trance The Magic Swordsman

ATK: 5000 / DEF: 200

Dawning Arms Legend

ATK: 3300 / DEF: 2000

Darby managed to stall until his last turn, with only two cards left in his deck, which were the last of the equip cards he needed. With three copies of "Ancient Rules" he drew on his first turn, he was able to special summon all three high level monsters in one turn.

Darby: 2300 LP

Bone Breaker: 7600 LP

"It's time to end this duel! Dawning Arms, slash Gozuki in half!" The warrior struck the zombie with its weapon, causing it to explode upon destruction.

Darby: 2300 LP

Bone Breaker: 6000 LP

Without missing a beat, he commanded his other monster to attack. "Trance, show them your power!"

Ryu Kokki was annihilated by a mystical blast from the mystical sword master.

Darby: 2300 LP

Bone Breaker: 3400 LP

"Rabidragon, let's finish it. Carrot Stream of Destruction!!!" The dragon fired an orange beam at Bone Breaker, sending him flying backwards as he yelled in defeat.

Darby: 2300 LP

Bone Breaker: 3400 LP

Shocked, Darby stood in silence from what just occurred. "I-I actually won a duel?!?!" He exclaimed in glee as he ran down the street, celebrating his victory.

*

Awakening from his comatose, awoke to Agneya and the other villagers staring down at him. Screaming, he repelled them as they backed away from the sudden outburst. Jumping to his feet, Yuji checked his pulse, making sure he was still alive. "I can't believe that plan actually worked…" He muttered to himself.

"I, no we, would like to thank you Yuji Nensho, for saving our town for peril." Agneya responded as he bowed her head.

Scratching his nose, Yuji felt himself become embarrassed. "No really, I didn't do anything." At that moment, he began to be enveloped in a white light, Yuji's body started to become transparent, as if he was fading out of the world's existence. "What the…!!! Wait, I must've completed the Judgement Game, then I must be returning back to EGRESS probably."

Taking a step forward, Agneya placed a hand on her chest. "You're leaving? I was hoping you could stay longer so we could thank you properly." Pausing for a moment, she continued. "Will I see you again?"

Yuji flashed a grin. "Most definitely." The light encompassed him completely transporting him away from this world. From afar, Seker had observed the entire ordeal. He smirked as he was cloaked in shadow.

"I was right to bring him on board. He just may be the one."

As the light faded, Yuji found himself in the middle of EGRESS' main plaza. From the distance, he heard someone call out his name, turning to face them, he saw that it was Darby.

"I did it! I won my first duel! Those cards you gave me really worked!!!"

Yuji smiled. "Those cards only worked because it had duelist like you behind them, the victory was all yours! I'm glad! I knew you could do it!"

Fighting tears, Darby put an arm around Yuji's shoulder. "From this moment, you are officially my best friend!"

"You're not just saying that, right?" Yuji joked.

"No! I really mean it, I definitely mean it! You have to believe me!!!" Darby pleaded.

"Let's go back to the normal world, I think I've had enough excitement for today." Yuji uttered.

*

Elsewhere, in a dark room, a suited man was seated at a desk, watching a monitor of EGRESS.

"This Yuji, I think he may be the one we've been looking for. You should see if he's actually something special, shouldn't you, Arn?"

"Of course, leave it to me."


	4. EGRESS4

Chapter 4: Art of Warfare

"Alright class, what was the name of the tuner archetype that the longest reigning riding duel king used?"

"Resonators!"

"That's correct!"

For Yuji, it was another typical day at Duel Academy, although today he found himself even more dazed than usual. He was lost in thought, thinking about the events that took place a day prior. "Are Duel Monsters actually real, living beings?" was among the ideas that ricocheted around the chambers of his mind. He couldn't believe so much happened in the last week all due to having his card stolen, and although the discoveries he made were exciting, he couldn't help but wonder what purpose would a place like EGRESS have. Even after entering the other world, he still was kept in the dark from what a Gate Card truly was, or why Duel Monsters could jump out of their cards outside a duel. It didn't matter to him for now, he was determined to continue searching for answers, after all, EGRESS might help him improve his dueling ability.

"Mr. Nensho, are you paying attention?!"

Snapping back into reality as the teacher put him on blast, the duelist felt a shudder run through his body as he looked up from his desk nervously.

"Um...the answer is uh…Jerry Beans Man?"

"..."

"..."

"See me after class."

After another hour passed, and after the ringing of the bell, Yuji was scolded by the teacher vehemently. Yuji hung his head in defeat as he entered the hallway, joining the masses of students as they travelled around the school freely during recess.

"That professor, if it was a duel instead of quizzes, I'd have that geezer smoked!"

As he walked down the corridor, among the crowd of students, he locked eyes with a familiar face. The two of them stopped in their tracks, jaws dropping as they came to a unanimous realization.

"D-Darby?"

"Yuji?!"

The dual duelists exchanged greetings before descending the stairs to the lower floors together.

"I can't believe you actually go to the same school as me! What are the odds?!" Darby shouted in exhilaration.

Yuji grinned. "About as much as a pendulum dragon, I'd say. I'm glad I finally have a friend here, it's really boring being a Osiris Red."

"Don't worry, the struggles of a slacker is what we Reds must suffer!!!" The fellow members of the lowest dorms laughed before bumping fists in comradery.

Without missing a beat, Yuji stopped in the middle of the hallway, with Darby looking back expectantly.

"Say, would you like to go somewhere with me?"

Yuji and Darby entered Roulette City High School, having left Duel Academy's premises far behind. The two entered a classroom that was left unattended, filled with frolicking students from the rival school.

"Why did you take us here? Are we even allowed?!" Darby fretted.

Shaking his head, Yuji waved his hand in dismissal. "It's fine, it's recess, remember? As long as we make it back to class in an hour we'll be fine, relax!"

"S-sure."

Yuji scanned the classroom thoroughly, darting his eyes across the room. He came to a stop as he laid his gaze upon Setsuna, who was seated in a desk by the window.

Running over to the desk while waving, Darby nervously followed behind.

"Yo Setsuna, I'm here for your daily duel training!"

Looking up at Yuji from her desk with an irritated expression, Setsuna rolled her eyes. "Please, not again!"

"Aw come on!" Yuji uttered as he scratched the bridge of his nose. "This time I even brought a friend to help you out!"

Setsuna turned her head to look at Darby, who was standing behind Yuji, shaking in nervousness.

Waving her hand at him, she greeted him. "Pleased to meet you, I'm Setsuna Natsume."

Darby immediately grabbed Yuji's shoulder and pulled him away from the desk, dragging him to the corner of the room.

"What are you doing?" Yuji questioned.

"You never told me you had a goddess as a friend!"

"Huh?"

"Tell me." Darby paused as he placed another hand on Yuji's other shoulder. "Are you two...j-just...just friends?"

Yuji tilted his head in confusion. "Definitely...why?"

Pushing Yuji to the side, Darby rocketed over to Setsuna's desk once more, sliding onto the floor and getting down on one knee as he looked up to the girl with a gleam in his eye.

"Hello, my name is Darby Stronghold. I'm an exchange student from Duel Academy, as fate would have it, I made a mistake having not transferred to this school instead, so our budding relationship could have taken off much sooner. Alas, my fair maiden, I hope we get to know each other."

"...Sure." Setsuna muttered as her eye twitched.

"Enough stalling!" Placing a chair in front of Setsuna's desk, Yuji sat down as he began placing several decks of cards from his bag onto the table. "Pick one, and get set to get decked!"

"Let's just get this over with, shall we?"

Picking up their respective decks, the battle was about to commence.

"DUEL"

Yuji: 4000 LP

Setsuna: 4000 LP

"I'll go first. I draw." Setsuna said in an unenthusiastic tone. Looking at her hand for a moment, a smirked flashed across her face.

"I activate Pot of Greed, this card makes me gain a thousand life points."

"That's not what it does! It lets you draw two cards!" Yuji scoffed.

Setsuna palmed a hand to her face. "Oops. My bad. I'll draw three cards then."

"That's not what Pot of Greed does! Read the card!" Yuji yelled once more.

"That's exactly what it does, great job Setsuna!" Darby coyly added, only to be met by Yuji's fiery gaze.

"Not you too, dammit!"

"Alright fine, I'll draw two." Pulling two cards from the deck, Setsuna let out a faint giggle as she placed a card from her hand onto the field.

"With no monsters left on the field, I summon Dark Magician, declare a direct attack."

Yuji slammed his hand on the desk, sending cards flying. "You can't just summon a monster like that without tributes, or attack on the first turn! That's not even Dark Magician, that's Cosmo Queen!"

"You're just mad you don't look like Dark Magician." The girl quipped.

"...You little…!!!" Feeling his blood begin to boil, Yuji quickly composed himself before continuing.

"Fine then, if you duel me seriously this one time, and get my life points to at least halfway gone, I'll stop pestering you about dueling, deal?"

"Deal." Setsuna responded. "Then I'll set one monster, and place two cards face down and end my turn."

"Finally! I draw!!!" Yuji exclaimed as he pulled a card from his deck.

"You can do it Setsuna!" Darby yelled.

"Who's side are you on?! Nevermind, I summon Axe Raider in attack position!" Yuji placed the warrior onto the field.

Axe Raider / Level 4

Earth / Warrior / Normal

ATK: 1700 / DEF: 1150

"An axe-wielding monster of tremendous strength and agility."

Setsuna let out a faint sigh. "Is that all you've got?"

Stunned at her sudden air of confidence, Yuji was taken aback. "You're just an amateur, I'm going to show why I'm the future Duel King! Attack the face-down monster, Axe Raider!"

"You know, with holograms not being involved, making your attacks sound all grandiose like that...really doesn't have the same effect." Flipping over the set monster, Setsuna revealed it to be Flamevell Guard.

Flamevell Guard / Level 1

Fire / Dragon / Tuner

ATK: 100 / DEF: 2000

"A Flamevell guardian who commands fire with his will. His magma-hot barrier protects his troops from intruders."

Yuji: 3700 LP

Setsuna: 4000 LP

"You just got lucky having a monster with that much defense! If this was my real deck, you would have already lost!" Scowling, Yuji reluctantly placed two cards face down before ending his turn.

"Is that so? Too bad." Drawing a card from her deck, Setsuna grinned as she revealed it to herself. As Yuji watched in anticipation, he noticed that Setsuna seemed to find more enthusiasm in this particular duel, whether it was because of the stipulation he had placed or not, he pondered if she actually was enjoying the duel, or rather enjoying tormenting him. Either way, these thoughts forced an upward curl of his lips.

"What are you smiling for?!" Setsuna shouted as she noticed his grin. "You dork, you're about to get schooled!"

"Huh?!" The smile vanished from Yuji's face, turning into a frown.

"I activate the spell card, Heavy Storm! It destroys all spells and trap cards on the field!"

"I had a card like that?! I should have picked that deck instead!" Yuji grabbed his head in frustration.

"I'm not done yet!" Setsuna added. "I activate the effects of my destroyed trap cards! Statue of the Wicked and Wild Tornado!"

"What the…!!!" Yuji gasped in shock.

"Get him, Setsuna!" Darby cheered.

"When 'Statue of The Wicked' is destroyed while it's face-down, I can special summon one Wicked Token to my side of the field! Also, when 'Wild Tornado' is destroyed, I can destroy a face up card on the field, say goodbye to Axe Raider!"

"T-there's nothing I can do!" Yuji said as he sent Axe Raider to the graveyard.

Wicked Token / Level 4

Dark / Fiend

ATK: 1000 / DEF: 1000

"Attack Yuji, Flamevell Guard and Wicked Token!"

Yuji: 2600 LP

Setsuna: 4000 LP

"And to think you called me an amateur, well I have you on the ropes now!"

Yuji hung his head in silence as he stared at his empty field. Upon noticing, Setsuna's excitement began to fade.

"Yuji, are you…"

"That was amazing!" Jumping out of his seat, bumping into the desk and sending cards flying once more, Yuji wore a beaming smile. "That combo was unexpected, I mean you probably top-decked or something but still! You're no amateur that's for sure, I think you're really good! With more practice, you could even end up beating me someday!"

Setsuna's brows furrowed as she turned her head away, for a moment, Yuji thought he had seen a pained expression on her face.

"It's nothing. I...I guess I just got lucky."

"Is...something wrong?" Yuji asked in concern.

"No, not at all." Placing a card from her hand onto the field, she continued. "Let's just go on with the duel, shall we?"

Before Yuji could react, Darby shot up from his seat, and let out a loud scream.

Getting up from his chair, Yuji grabbed him by his vest. "What's going on?! Why did you scream like that! You scared the shapesnatch out of me!"

"We have ten minutes until class starts!!!"

"...Oh shit!!!"

Grabbing all the cards scattered on the desk and floor and tossing them into his bag, Yuji sprinted towards the door as Darby followed.

"We have to hurry, the professor is going to kill me if I'm late!"

As the two bolted out the building, Setsuna stared at them from above through the window.

"Idiot."

After a few minutes of frantic running, Yuji and Darby came to a halt as they attempted to catch their breath.

"I told you that going to a whole other school during break was a bad idea!" Darby said while panicking.

Yuji brushed off his concerns. "We're almost there, it's just a few blocks more, if we keep going we can make it! Let's go." Walking instead of running, Darby stumbled as he sprinted briefly to keep up with him.

"You really need to learn how to breathe." Attempting to fill the void with chatter, another topic came to his mind. "Hey Yuji, when you went to the other world beyond EGRESS yesterday, what was it like?"

"It was…weird. There were a bunch of things I've never seen on earth there. For some reason, there were no humans in sight, the only beings that seemed to live there look like Duel Monsters. It's probably a simulation like LINK VRAINS or something."

"I don't think so." Darby added. "It might have been the Duel Monsters Spirit World."

Turning to face Darby, Yuji lifted a brow. "The spirit world?"

"Yeah, you never heard of it? It's kind of an urban legend now, but back in Duel Academy's past, as well as in other places, there was said to be people who could talk with their cards, as well as visit the worlds they came from. It started a lot of debates on whether or not Duel Monsters was just a game, now it's just a myth."

Yuji looked to the sky. Duel Monsters coming from a parallel world made sense, considering what happened in the last few days, but was it really probable? Even if it was, what did it have to do with EGRESS, or even himself. The idea of monster spirits seemed silly to him. But if the opposite held true, he thought it could be an exciting journey to explore it further.

"It's my turn to ask a question. Back there, you said you were an exchange student. I mean, I kinda guessed because of your name, you definitely aren't from Japan, but yeah, what brought you to Roulette City?"

"Funny you ask." Darby laughed. "I'm from the states. My dad is an archeologist, so we travel a lot since he constantly finds new places to dig and search for relics and the like."

"Woah, that's so cool! If I wasn't on the road to becoming the Duel King, I probably would have liked to do something as adventurous as that." Yuji responded.

"I guess." Pausing for a moment, Darby continued. "A few years ago, my dad found a stone tablet in Egypt, it had some weird inscriptions on it, and he said it had instructions on how to travel to the spirit world. A similar find was found here in Roulette, so my dad moved here to study it."

"And the rest is history?"

"Right. Since we had to move constantly, I've never really had friends. That's why I'm glad I met...OH SHIT!!!"

Yuji quickly turned to face Darby who was standing with his jaw dropped.

"What happened?!"

"I forgot my bag!!!" Darby turned around, and began to dash down the street with superhuman speed.

"You'll never make it in time! You can get it when school ends!" Yuji shouted.

Darby waved back as he continued to run. "My deck is in there, I can't leave it! Go on without me brother! I will meet you on the other side!"

As Darby disappeared into the distance, Yuji began to break into a run of his own, to reach class in time.

"Brother, huh?" He smirked.

Making it just in time, he broke into the classroom and slid into his seat just as the bell rang. In the corner of his eye, he felt the teacher staring at him in enmity. As the class settled, the professor walked to the front of the room, and gestured for the student to be silent.

"Listen, you slackers. Tomorrow, we will be getting a new exchange student added to this class, and I have to say, they'll be a real diamond in the rough compared to the lot of you for sure! So be on your best behavior when they arrive!"

As the class began to chatter, speculating on what kind of person would be joining them, Yuji's thoughts lingered on his friend.

"I wonder if he made it back yet." He muttered to himself.

Having left the rival school once more after retrieving his bag, Darby ran down the streets in a frenzy, attracting the eyes of many he passed by.

"I'm late, I'm so late! Gotta hurry before I get double duel quizzes for homework tonight!"

Suddenly, two figures stepped out in front of Darby, causing him to come to a stop.

"Hey! Get out of the way! Don't you see I'm in a hurry!" Darby yelled.

"You won't be going anywhere. My name is Blud. "A young man with red hair and eyes, with a brown jacket and black leather pants stood before him.

"And my name is Plaz. You wouldn't happen to know where Yuji is now would you?" Next to Blud, a man with white hair, a yellow jacket, with a white shirt and pants stood also.

"Let me guess, more Skull Servant Gang members?!" Darby said.

"Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner! Spill it out punk!" Plaz vehemently spat.

Darby wanted to run, however he didn't know what these two delinquents would try in retaliation. After Yuji helped him win his first duel, and became his first real friend, in just the span of a day he felt like he had changed as a person. He would fight, he would do anything to protect his friend.

"I'm not telling you anything! If you want to get at him, you'll have to go through me first!"

"Fine then." Blud rejoined. "How about a duel to decide it? If you win, we'll let you leave! But if we win, you'll have to tell us what we want to know? Deal?"

Darby threw his duel disk onto his arm, and activated it into duel mode. "Let's get it then!"

Plaz snickered. "Just know that in this duel, you'll have to face the both of us!"

"Please." Darby smirked. "I'll take you both on!"

"DUEL"

Back at Duel Academy, class came to an end, and students began to flood out from the classroom. Before Yuji could leave his seat, he heard a beeping noise from his back. Pulling out his duel disk, a red light flashed from its projector.

"A message?" Pressing a button on the duel disk, a holographic screen appeared above its center, showing a live video. Yuji's eyes widened as he saw Darby laying on the ground unmoving in the background.

"Darby?! What happened?! Where are you?!"

Jumping in front of the camera, Plaz looked into the video feed with a sinister grin as Blud walked into view from behind.

"So we meet at last, Yuji!" Plaz declared as he laughed maniacally.

Yuji's blood began to boil. "Whoever you are, what did you do to him?! I'll make you pay, where the hell are you!"

"If you want to save him, come alone to the EGRESS warehouse, you've been there before haven't you? Oh yeah, and do come alone."

Just as Yuji was about to speak once more, the message ended, leaving him alone in the classrooms drowning in silence as his veins filled with fire.

Arriving at the warehouse, he scanned his Key Card, which caused the doors to slide open. Stepping inside, the doors shut behind him, shrouding him in darkness. The lights suddenly turned on revealing the two gang members before him. With Darby knocked unconscious on the floor behind them.

"Darby!" He yelled as he tried to approach him, only to have his path blocked by Blud.

"You really think we'd just let you waltz in here and leave unscathed?" Blud pushed Yuji with force, knocking him back, creating distance between them once more.

"I'm Blud. Right next to me is Plaz. Top tier tag team duelists of the Skull Servants! Let's just say you got off on the wrong foot when you messed with our boss, now we've come for vengeance."

"So that's what this is about?!" Yuji clenched his fist. "If you have a problem with me, then face me! Don't go after someone else! Someone innocent...Darby never did anything to you, or to anyone!"

"Really? Did you know yesterday he beat our very own Bone Breaker in a duel? He did it trying to protect you. Anyone who gets in our way gets run over, plain and simple."

Yuji was stunned. Darby never informed him on who he had defeated in a duel. Which meant that Darby became a target because of him, to defend him. Moved by that realization, he realized just how strong Darby's bond of friendship was with himself. He could not let him down.

Plaz activated his duel disk, and loaded his deck into it. It was a solid vision model duel disk, with a blue body and a white energy blade.

"Enough talking! It's time to duel and send you to lights-out land!"

Blud activated his duel disk, which had a black body, with a red energy blade. "I agree. Just so you know Yuji, you'll be facing us both. Since there are three of us, it'll be according to battle royale rules. If either of us bring your life points to zero, we get your Gate Card. You up for it?"

Without saying a word, Yuji equipped his duel disk onto his arm, loading his deck into it.

"When I win, you'll both scram! Time to get cremated!"

"DUEL"

Yuji: 4000 LP

Blud: 4000 LP

Plaz: 4000 LP

"Wait a minute, four thousand life points?!" Yuji noted in confusion.

"We don't like to play by EGRESS or tournament rules, we like to keep things nice and quick, so we use the standard rules. Got a problem with it? It doesn't matter because I'm starting this duel off! I draw!" Blud pulled a card from his deck and revealed it to himself.

"I activate the continuous spell, Purgatory Sanction! As long as this card remains on the field, I can pay one-thousand life points once per turn, and then I can special summon one Zombie-type monster from my deck!"

Yuji: 4000 LP

Blud: 3000 LP

Plaz: 4000 LP

"I'm using its effect right from the start, come out, Zombie Master!"

Zombie Master / Level 4

Dark / Zombie / Effect

ATK: 1800 / DEF: 0

A lone necromancer rose from the grave onto the field.

"Next, I normal summon Shiranui Spectralsword Shade to the field in attack mode!"

Shiranui Spectralsword Shade / Level 3

Fire / Zombie / Tuner / Effect

ATK: 800 / DEF: 0

A ghostly swordsman wielding blue flame drifted into the battlefield.

"A tuner? So that means…!"

Yuji's words were cut off by Blud. "Yes, that means I'm getting ready for something big!"

"Make em' cower bro!" Plaz reeled back his head as he began to cackle uncontrollably.

"I tune my level three Spectralsword Shade, with my level four Zombie Master!" The tuner monster became transparent, transforming into several cyan rings of energy, as the non-tuner monster became a pathway of stars, equal to the level of the behemoth that was about to descend.

"From the depths of darkness, let your crimson gaze make all the fallen burn to ashes! Arise, the ultimate destroyer! Red-Eyes Zombie Necro Dragon!"

Red-Eyes Zombie Necro Dragon / Level 7

Dark / Zombie / Synchro / Effect

ATK: 2400 / DEF: 2000

"Red-Eyes?! Th-that's supposed to be a legendary card archetype! How did you get a rare card like that?!" Yuji said in shock.

"When you beat enough people, you eventually stumble on some good cards." Blud smirked. "My Necro Dragon's effect activates! When it's on the field, it gains one-hundred attack and defense for each zombie in the field or the graveyard! There are three in total, so my dragon gets boosted by three-hundred points!"

Red-Eyes Zombie Necro Dragon / Level 7

ATK: 2700 / DEF: 2300

"Since this is a battle royale, none of us can attack on our first turn, I set one card, and I end my turn. It's your move, dweeb."

"You're gonna regret messing with my friend! I draw!" Yuji shouted as he pulled a card from his deck and revealed it to himself.

"I'll start this off with a bang! When I control no monsters, I can special summon this card from my hand, Transgressor Rogue!"

Transgressor Rogue / Level 4

Dark / Warrior / Effect

ATK: 1900 / DEF: 1000

A cloaked thief wielding a dagger stepped out of the shadows.

"Now I activate its effect! Once per turn, I can special summon another level four or lower monster from my hand! Join the party, Repressor Hunter!"

Repressor Hunter / Level 4

Wind / Warrior / Effect

ATK: 1800 / DEF: 1400

An archer descended, holding a mystical bow and arrow.

"I'm keeping up the pressure! When Repressor Hunter is summoned, I can send the top card of your deck to the graveyard!"

The top card of Blud's deck was sent to the graveyard, much to his dismay. "You really enjoy doing pointless things to piss me off, don't you?"

"Hold onto that anger, because it's about to get worse! Come out, Mirror Wyvern!"

Mirror Wyvern / Level 4

Light / Dragon / Effect

ATK: 0 / DEF: 0

A dragon with wings made of glass emerged on the field.

"Once per turn, Mirror Wyvern can target a monster you control, and gains attack points equal to it until then end of the turn, and I'm choosing your Red-Eyes!"

Mirror Wyvern / Level 4

ATK: 2700 / DEF: 0

"I see, so you'll go for a mutual destruction with my dragon, then attack me directly with your other monsters? Is that it? Not a bad plan." Blud said.

"Bingo, let's get it started then! Battle! Attack, Mirror Wyvern! Image Shard!"

The transparent dragon flapped its wings, shooting countless shards of glass towards the undead dragon. Blud laughed, putting a hand over his face as he shook his head in disbelief.

"You know, that would have worked...if you hadn't helped me out!"

"What?!" Yuji responded.

"The card you sent from my deck to the graveyard, Bacon Saver! I can banish this card from my grave to negate your attack! You should know by now that the graveyard is basically a second hand to us zombie users! What a loser!"

Gritting his teeth, Yuji was left with no option but to end his turn. "When Mirror Wyvern attacks, at the end of the battle phase it is changed to defense position...I place two cards face down and end my turn."

Plaz began to jump up and down in excitement. "Finally, dammit! It's my turn now! Prepare to get schooled! I draw!!!"

Looking at the card he drew, he immediately placed it on his field.

"Let's get this combo going! I activate the continuous spell, Pyramid of Wonders! All zombie monsters we control gain two-hundred attack for each monster you control!!! Since you control three, Red-Eyes Zombie Necro Dragon gains six-hundred attack!"

Red-Eyes Zombie Necro Dragon / Level 7

ATK: 3300 / DEF: 2300

"But the nightmare is far from over!!! Let's change the scenery shall we?! I activate the field spell, Zombie World!!! Now all monsters, including yours, join the ranks of the undead!!!"

The area around the two duelists began to change, leaving only a world of despair where only the deceased remained.

"With more of its kind, Red-Eyes gets yet another boost!!!"

Red-Eyes Zombie Necro Dragon / Level 7

ATK: 3600 / DEF: 2600

Yuji took a step back, as the dragon had become even more fearsome. "That's…insane!"

Plaz placed a hand over his ear. "What was that?! You haven't seen nothing yet!!! I use the effect of Blud's Purgatory Sanction! I give up one-thousand life point to special summon a zombie from my deck!!!"

Yuji: 4000 LP

Blud: 3000 LP

Plaz: 3000 LP

"Lord of the fallen, rise up, become the king of the dead! Make the doomed bow before you!!! Cower before Doomking Balerdroch!"

An abomination of a ruler, wielding a regal staff rose from the depths.

"Due to Pyramid of Wonders, it's attack gets a boost!!! And since there is another zombie on the field, so does Red-Eyes!!!

Doomking Balderoch / Level 8

Dark / Zombie / Effect

ATK: 3400 / DEF: 2000

Red-Eyes Zombie Necro Dragon / Level 7

ATK: 3400 / DEF: 2700

"Impossible…! That level of teamwork, I've never seen anything like it!" Yuji uttered as his eyes widened.

"That's right! That's me and my brother Blud! Unstoppable! You know...there is a story between our two monsters, they are rivals who fight for control over the underworld! But here, and now, our power has united them both to crush you!!!"

"Yes, destroy him Plaz! Let's teach him why you should never mess with the Skull Servants!!!"

"Yuji, prepare to be exterminated!!! It's battle time! Red-Eyes Zombie Necro Dragon!!! Attack his Repressor Hunter!!! Necro Burst Flare!!!"

A beam of blue flame raced from the mouth of the deceased dragon, consuming the warrior reducing it to ashes. The wind caused by the destruction knocked Yuji backwards, sending him into the ground.

Yuji: 2400 LP

Blud: 3000 LP

Plaz: 3000 LP

"I'm not done yet, when Necro Dragon destroys another zombie, I can special summon one zombie from either graveyard! I choose the Repressor Hunter I just destroyed! But it's still not over!!! Now I'll activate my Doomking's effect, when a zombie activates it's effect, I can banish one monster on the field or in the graveyard! I'll banish your feeble Mirror Wyvern!!!"

Just like the duel with Kyohei, the damage felt real, Yuji grunted as the heat from the flames still lingered. "Just how many effects are you going to activate this turn?!"

Plaz mockingly smirked. "Enough! Due to Pyramid of Wonders, the Repressor Hunter I summoned gains attack!"

Repressor Hunter / Level 4

ATK: 2000 / DEF: 1400

"Attack his Transgressor Rogue!!!" Plaz commanded. The warrior shot an arrow of energy at the thief, sending it to the graveyard.

Yuji: 2300 LP

Blud: 3000 LP

Plaz: 3000 LP

"It's over!!! You have no more monsters left!!! Finish it, Doomking Balerdroch!!! Regal Decay!!!" A beam of energy spiraled from the king's staff, approaching Yuji to bring his defeat.

Just as the blast was about to hit, Yuji flipped over his face down card. "I activate the trap, Ressor Signal!! When a monster would declare a direct attack, I can special summon a level four or lower monster from my deck! Come out, Ressoriboh!!!"

Ressoriboh / Level 3

Fire / Fiend / Effect

ATK: 300 / DEF: 500

"When Ressoriboh is the only monster I control, I can pay five-hundred life points to negate its destruction by battle!" Yuji shouted.

"You just don't know when to quit, vermin! Raze that ball of fur into nothing, continue your attack, Doomking!!!" As the blast hit Ressoriboh, it created a barrier around itself, saving it from destruction. Yuji grunted in pain as he gave up the necessary life points.

Yuji: 1800 LP

Blud: 3000 LP

Plaz: 3000 LP

"You got lucky punk! When it's Blud's turn again, he'll end this for sure! I place two cards face-down, and end my turn!!!"

"That's right, Plaz." Said Blud. "It's your move, have your last turn, Yuji."

Yuji put all his faith into his last draw, if he didn't get the card he needed, it was game over. Both he and Darby would be left at the mercy of the two gang members, which would mean the loss of their Gate Cards, and possibly worse. In order to win, he needed the very card they wanted to take from him.

"I draw!!!" Shutting his eyes, he pulled a card from his deck. Revealing it to himself, it was Pyressor Fighter. "It's here!"

Smirking, he flipped over his face-down card. "I activate the trap, Pressor Drain! If I control a "ressor" monster, it lets me target and destroy a monster on your side of the field, then I'll gain life points equal to its attack! I choose Doomking Balerdroch!!!"

"You really are weak." Blud coldly muttered.

"What did you say?!" Yelled Yuji.

"Put an end to his hope, Plaz."

Grinning from ear to ear, Plaz began to cackle. "You've got it! I activate the counter trap, Tutan Mask!!!! When a spell or a trap would target a zombie monster I control, it gets negated and destroyed!!!"

Yuji shielded his face with his arms as the trap card detonated. As the smoke cleared, his eyes widened as he saw that Plaz flipped over his other face-down.

"I activate, Undead Vanish! This card banishes a random card in your hand! You're done! It's all over for you now!"

Yuji dropped to his knees as his discarded Pyressor to the graveyard. His luck had run out. Even though his still had Ressoriboh on the field, Doomking Balerdroch could banish it the moment its effect activated. He had nothing to bait, nothing to stall. In the end, he couldn't even rely on his ace card. Worst of all, he had failed Darby, who had taken on Blud and Plaz for his sake. He couldn't even avenge him. He began to doubt hint as a duelist, maybe he wasn't fit to be the Duel King.

"Damn it! I'm so pathetic, I should have known better!! It was only a matter of time…"

"Hurry up and end your turn!!!" Plaz shouted angrily.

Upon seeing Yuji drown in despair, a smirk flashed across Blud's face as a sinister idea formed in his mind. "Wait." He gestured to Plaz, telling him to quell his impatience. "Yuji, if you surrender right now, and give us your Pyressor, we will let the both of you go without harm. Deal?"

Plaz began to snicker, quickly placing his hands over his mouth to contain the laughter. "Oh no...you're going to do that again…!" He whispered to himself.

Blud had no intention of sparing them. He wanted to give Yuji one last ray of hope, so he could take it away from him. It was enough to beat him, he had to crush his very soul.

Yuji looked at his favorite card, the one that got him through so many duels. He didn't want to part with it, not after what they've been through, or what was yet to be discovered. Without it, he would have to call it quits being the Duel King, and he would lose the right to be in EGRESS. But perhaps it wasn't for him. If he could save a friend here and now, maybe his efforts could at least amount to something. Moving his hand, he moved it slowly towards his deck, preparing to surrender.

In that moment however, before he could react, the duel status was updated.

"INTRUSION PENALTY"

The robotic voice of the duel disk system spoke, and the doors to the warehouse began to slide open. As light beaconed into the room, a lone figure stood.

"Who the hell are you?!" Plaz tilted his head in confusion.

"You dare interfere?!" Blud scoffed angrily.

Turning around, Yuji gazed upon the one who entered the duel as they walked into the room. He was a young man with sky blue hair and eyes. He had on an Obelisk Blue uniform, a signature blue vest with black pants. He had a blue Sol Technologies model duel disk around his wrist. The man stopped next to Yuji, pushing the frame of his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Looks like you need some help."

Yuji rose to his feet, looking at him in confusion. "Just who are you?"

Light reflected off the man's glasses as he grinned.

"You can call me Arn."

Yuji: 1800 LP

Arn: 2000 LP

Blud: 3000 LP

Plaz: 3000 LP

"So you came you help this loser out, however you are. But your little friend is on the ropes, you'll join him in defeat! Yuji's turn is over!" Blud shouted.

"Actually." Arn pushes the frame of his glasses once more. "When someone enters a battle royale through intrusion, it becomes their turn. Only an amateur doesn't know that."

"WHAT?!?!" Blud and Plaz yelled in unison.

"My turn! I draw!" Without looking at the card he drew, he played it without hesitation.

"I activate Mystical Space Typhoon! I destroy Zombie World!"

Plaz growled in fury. "I thought that thing only negated?!"

"Sad." Without missing a beat, as if Arn played the same cards for years, he placed a monster on the field.

"I special summon Armament Android - Boost Launcher!!!"

A.A - Boost Launcher / Level 2

Dark / Machine / Effect

ATK: 0 / DEF: 0

A small yellow robot with a mechanical catapult attached to it materialized.

"When Boost Launcher is summoned, I can special summon two more from my hand or deck!"

A.A - Boost Launcher / Level 2

ATK: 0 / DEF: 0

A.A - Boost Launcher / Level 2

ATK: 0 / DEF: 0

Blud began to laugh. "Those monsters are so weak and pathetic! What can those possibly do?!"

"You'll see right now. Appear, the circuit that builds the future! The summoning condition is two A.A monsters!!"

"Wait...that must be…!" Yuji said.

A node with several arrows appeared. Two of the Boost Launchers transformed into energy, racing into the node, filling it with a red glow. "Arrowheads confirmed, Link Summon! Come out, Armament Artillery - Damage Reflector!!!

A.A - Damage Reflector / Link-2

Link Markers: [ UP , DOWN ]

Dark / Machine / Union / Effect

ATK: 2000

A violet robotic sentry hovered in the air.

"Next, when I control an "A.A" link monster, I can special summon Armament Android - Metal Conduit!

A.A - Metal Conduit / Level 4

Dark / Machine / Effect

ATK: 1800 / DEF: 1000

"Appear again! The circuit that builds the future! I Link Summon, Armament Artillery - Dual Booster!!

A.A - Dual Booster / Link-2

Link Markers: [ UP , DOWN ]

Dark / Machine / Union / Effect

ATK: 2000

A metallic exoskeleton descended onto the field.

"Another Link Summon?! The hell are you planning, idiot?!" Plaz barked.

"Your defeat! I equip my Dual Booster to my Damage Reflector!" The exoskeleton latched onto the robot, acting like armor.

Blud took a step back. "A union link monster?! I've never heard of something like that?!"

Arn nodded his head in approval. "Impressed? Now for the finishing touch. When I control an "A.A" link monster, I can equip this card to it from my hand! Become one, Armament Artillery - Burn Barrier!!!

A.A - Burn Barrier / Level 4

Dark / Machine / Union / Effect

ATK: 1000 / DEF: 1000

A small red shield latched onto the chassis of Damage Reflector, creating a crimson barrier of energy around the monster.

A.A - Damage Reflector / Link-2

Dark / Machine / Union / Effect

ATK: 2000

Doomking Balderoch / Level 8

Dark / Zombie / Effect

ATK: 3200 / DEF: 2000

Red-Eyes Zombie Necro Dragon / Level 7

Dark / Zombie / Effect

ATK: 3200 / DEF: 2600

Brushing a hand through his hair, Arn smirked. "It's time to wrap this up. Battle."

Plaz began to laugh uncontrollably, collapsing to the ground, rolling around while grabbing his stomach. "You are insane! Your monster does have enough attack!! Even if it did, if either of our zombies would be destroyed, I can send Pyramid of Wonders the the graveyard to negate its destruction! You truly are garbage!!"

Arn pushed the frame of his glasses. "...Attack his Doomking Balerdroch, A.A -Damage Reflector! Mirror Match!!"

The robot lunged forward, it's shield covering its frame. Upon impact with Balderoch, the monster was cast in flames as Plaz's life points hit zero. Plaz screamed as he was sent flying, getting knocked unconscious as he hit the ground.

Blud's eyes widened in shock and fear. He had no clue on what happened, his body began to shake as his blood boiled. "How?!?!?! What did you do?! That isn't right? This has to be a mistake!"

"It isn't. When my Damage Reflector attacks, I take no battle damage, during the damage step, I can inflict damage to my opponent equal to the attack target's attack points. Next, my Burn Barrier makes it so when a monster isn't destroyed by my attack, I can inflict one-thousand points of damage to my opponent. It also stops my monster from being destroyed for the number of Union monsters I have equipped on my field. Finally, my Dual Booster lets me attack twice, so this duel is over."

Blud fell to his knees. "You...you must be cheating!!!"

"No." Once again, Arn pushed the frame of his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "You just suck. Attack, Damage Reflector! Mirror Match!!!"

Blud was knocked back as his Red-Eyes was engulfed by the barrier, knocking him out as he lost the duel.

Yuji: 1800 LP

Arn: 2000 LP

Blud: 0 LP

Plaz: 0 LP

Winner: Yuji Arn

"Woah...wait!!!" Yuji, stunned by the combo, snapped back into reality, and immediately ran over to Darby, shaking him.

"Wake up! Are you alright?!"

Slowly opening his eyes, Darby quickly sprang up as he looked around frantically.

"Am I still alive?!" Turning to face Yuji, he paused for a moment, before bursting into tears. "I tried...I tried to pay you back! For helping me...I thought I could take them on by myself!"

"You didn't have to prove anything!" Yuji placed a hand on Darby's shoulder. "I shouldn't have put you in that position, it's my fault. From now on, we'll take on everyone who gets in our way together!"

"So, am I at least going to get a thank you?" Arn cheekily quipped.

Upon seeing Arn, Darby's jaw dropped. His body shaking, he slowly pointed a finger at him.

"Th-th-that's…!!!"

Yuji furrowed his brow in confusion as he looked at them both, back and forth. "You know this guy?"

"Know this guy?!" Darby jumped to his feet in exhilaration.

"That's Arnold Allen, the North American Duel Monsters Champion!"


	5. EGRESS5

Chapter 5: Day Of The Dead

In an abandoned building in the rookery of Roulette City, the members of the Skull Servant Gang congregated, awaiting the one who called them for an emergency meeting. Bone Breaker, Blud, Plaz and the rest of the grunts of the gang stood in the room impatiently.

"We've been waiting for five minutes! I'll never get this time back, I could have been sleeping right now!" Plaz whined.

"Shut up." Bone Breaker scoffed angrily. "After your pathetic loss, sleep should be the least of your problems."

Blud turned to face Bone Breaker, eying him with a fiery gaze. "You're the one to talk, musclehead, you lost to a newbie that played normal monsters! I don't know why our leader bothered to make you an elite member."

"Why you…!" Bone Breaker clenched his fist, as veins bulged in his robust arms, he walked over to Blud prepared to make him eat his words. But before a fight could break out, the sound of clapping was heard, which caused everyone in the room to stop in their tracks. From the dark corner of the room, a figure walked into the light.

He had on a studded black trench coat, with piercings scattered around his face. Underneath was a black leather shirt and jeans, which shone in the light like onyx. He was the second-in-command of the gang, Junto Hijin, the Wight Shogun.

Upon entering the room, without another word, everyone kneeled without question. If one did not show respect to the bosses, it could end in dire consequences. Junto looked around, inspecting his subordinates. With a frown, he turned away from them, facing the wall.

"You've all been a huge disappointment."

The rest of the room gulped simultaneously, bracing themselves for whatever may come next.

"Ever since our leader, Kyohei, vanished…instead of getting sweet revenge, you've all lost to some pathetic loser with a gimped-up-burn one-trick pony deck!" Junto shouted with great rage, still facing the opposite direction.

Lifting his head slowly, Bone Breaker scrapped up the courage to speak.

"B-but sir...I didn't lose to him…"

Junto turned around suddenly, causing everyone to jump in fear as he harbored a crazy look in his eyes.

"You lost to someone who thinks playing goat format is an effective strategy in today's game you big dumb dimwit! That's even worse, shut your pathetic mouth up you absolute cretin!"

Lowering his head in shame, Bone Breaker eyed Plaz angrily, who was visibly trying to hold in a laugh. Junto paced around the room, before leaping onto a crate located at the end of the room, treating it as a stage for his speech.

"Since all of you failed miserably, it's time for me to put an end to the one who has brought us shame, and return us to glory! All will fear us again as the most notorious, nefarious, nigh unstoppable duelists of destruction!"

His worlds riled up the members of the gang, causing them to cheer and rally behind his declaration. Junto, who was reveling in the applause, noticed how Blud was the only one not clapping. With a raise of his hand, the cheering came to a stop, returning the room to an uncomfortable silence. Blud felt Junto's gaze on him, making him break into a cold sweat.

"Is there a reason you neglect to give your leader your fervor? Is this...insubordination???"

Blud raised his head quickly as he shook his head in denial.

"N-no...it's just tha-"

"JUST WHAT?!"

"It's just that...Yuji Nensho has proven to be a formidable opponent, plus he has the help of a champion now, one that until yesterday we didn't even know existed, I'm not questioning your prowess, but if our leader lost to him...what chance do you have?"

Junto looked at the ground, his damp black hair drooping, covering his eyes. His body began to tremble, which caused the gang members to flinch as they readied for the outburst.

"Good question!" Junto lifted his head, answering with a smile, which only struck greater fear into Blud.

"It's clear that this...Yuji...has dueling skills that we can't possibly calculate. So I've elected to elect myself to deal with it the only possible way we can possibly deal with it…a War Duel!!!" Junto exclaimed as he laughed maniacally.

Bone Breaker stood up in protest. "But sir! Using the power of our Gate Cards outside of EGRESS is forbidden, if you get caught by Seker then…"

"I won't get caught. After all, I have the card our illustrious leader left me!" Raising a card into the air, the grunts of the gang cheered as Junto's lips curled into a sinister smirk.

"I'll finish him quickly. It's time to make Yuji's life points hit zero…PERMANENTLY."

All the buzz in Duel Academy was on the new transfer student, Arnold Allen. He was considered a dueling prodigy, at the age of twelve he had already conquered multiple tournaments and decorated himself with multiple awards. Prior to his attending of Duel Academy, he took part in the World Tournament, in which he made it to the finals before losing to the man who would go on to be champion. Many would look at a feat like making it to the finals as nothing to scoff at, as he was still one of the best duelists in the world

"Did you see how he took out the teacher's Ancient Gear Megaton Golem?! That was the playstyle of a true champion!"

Darby excitedly recalled as he slammed his hand on the cafeteria table, as Yuji was busy munching on a sandwich.

After his grand introduction to the entire school, which only served to make everyone, even the Obelisk Blues to feel inadequate, Arnold had an exhibition duel with one of the homeroom teachers. It ended in single turn, just like the duel he had against Blud and Plaz.

"I hope one day we can reach his level, I still lose to regular Ancient Gear Golem." Letting out a chuckle, Yuji stared at Pyressor Fighter, which was laid out on the table in front of him. There was a part of him that believed the words that Kyohei told him, that it was a bad card. But most of him wanted to prove him and everyone else wrong about it, Pyressor wasn't the best card in terms of effects, but there was no other card like it, and that's why he had to fight for its honor.

"Mind if I join in?" Arnold walked over the table Yuji and Darby were at, taking a seat next to them.

"Of course, you're the champ after all!" Darby welcomed him with no hesitation.

"Your praise is appreciated." Arnold said as he pushed the frame of his glasses. "I'm still getting used to the environment here, the Duel Academy here is different from the one in my country. You guys are the only ones I've really gotten to know so far."

"No kidding." Yuji responded. "You've been surrounded by crowds and signing autographs since you stepped through the door. Especially from the girls, for some reason."

"Speaking of girls...can we go back to that other school during recess?! I-I kinda want to see that girl with the hime cut again."

Yuji halted taking a bite from his sandwich. "You mean Setsuna?"

"Yes! Her! My queen Setsuna...it was worthwhile crossing the seas to this nation of the sole purpose was to be her knight in shining armor! Yes...I can see it, the future…! Our future together!"

Yugi slammed his hand into his face. "You've got some weird fantasies don't you?"

Arnold chortled at the interaction between the two. "You guys are definitely an entertaining bunch. It was destiny to meet you it seemed. Say, how about later I teach the both of you some of the moves I've picked up at tournaments?"

Darby spat out his water. "You mean you'll duel us?! No way! I gladly take you up on that offer!"

"I want to be the best duelist in the world eventually, so facing you is an eventuality. I'll take you on anytime, anywhere! How about we throw down during recess?!" Yuji challenged Arnold with a fiery passion, causing Arnold to smirk slyly.

"Oh ho? I'm afraid I won't be losing to you. But I don't think we can duel during recess."

"What?!" Yuji and Darby shouted in unison.

"I'm an Obelisk Blue, you guys are Osiris Reds, we have different schedules. It's going to have to be after school, I'll come up with the time and place."

"Deal!" Yuji was exhilarated. He had watched the World Championships, and watched firsthand how strong Arnold was against other pro-duelists, this was the first step in his goal of becoming the best. Learning everything he could was imperative.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go use the...uh, restroom." Arn quickly got up from the table and walked out of the cafeteria, leaving Yuji and Darby is in confusion.

"Weak bladder?" Darby inquired, only for Yuji to shrug in response.

Arnold roamed his hallway in disgust. How dare such a novice duelist challenge him in such a way, and make such an arrogant statement? There was no way Yuji could stand a chance of defeating him, plain and simple. Few have matched him in duels, and only one of them was worthy enough to be called his rival - the world champion himself.

He was sent by EGRESS higher-ups to monitor Yuji, as they suspected that there was something "special" about him. But upon further inspection, he came off as nothing but generic. The mission was a waste of time, Arnold believed himself above such a weak opponent.

Arnold came to a stop as someone emerged from around the corner at the end of the corridor. He didn't seem to be a student, as he wasn't wearing uniform. He approached Arnold, coming to a stop in front of him.

"Greetings, student of Duel Institute."

"It's Duel Academy." Narrowing his eyes, Arnold assessed that the man was a criminal of some sorts, based on his dubious appearance. "You don't go to this school, do you? Who are you, and why are you here?"

"I am the chosen heir of darkness, the zealot of zombies! My name is Junto Hijin, but I'm also known as the Wight Shogun! Part of the Skull Servant Gang! I came to this humble little kindergarten for one sole purpose...where is Yuji Nensho?!"

Arnold recalled the name of the gang, as he had defeated two of the members a day prior. He was surprised after such a devastating defeat by his hand that the gang wasn't after him, but Yuji. This piqued his interest, there must be a special reason they would target a lesser duelist.

"Say if I do know where he is, what do you want with him?"

Junto snickered. "I want to beat him in a simple, family-friendly duel with absolute sportsmanship...is that so wrong?"

An idea sparked within Arnold's mind. Maybe he could use this opportunity to see if Yuji was really what the admins talked him up to be.

"That's fine by me, Junto, was it? Listen, I've got a plan…"

Soon enough, the bell rang as lunch ended and classes resumed, as Yuji shuffled through the crowds to reach class on time, he was intercepted by Arnold.

"Arn? What's up?"

"I've decided on where we can have our duel."

Yuji grinned. "Just name it and I'll be there."

Arnold almost felt sorry for his betrayal. "Under the bridge, downtown of Roulette. You know, the one that connects to Neo Domino? That one. After school I'll meet you there. But do come alone."

"Huh? Why?" Yuji tilted his head.

"Because I prefer to duel one-on-one, if Darby is there it might just turn into a tag duel against me. Don't worry though, I'll make sure to duel him another time."

"That makes sense. Got it! I'll see you there!" Yuji yelled as he sprinted past Arnold.

Pushing the frame of his glasses up his nose, Arnold frowned. "What a peon, if you want to duel me, you'll have to earn it."

Several hours passed. Immediately after class ended, Yuji had rushed to the underpass Arnold told him to meet at. He was ecstatic, even his inanimate cards felt as if they were itching to get played. The sky was cloudy, blanketed in a dark grey, rain was coming soon, dueling under the bridge seemed to be a good idea in foresight.

"Hey, Arn! I'm here to beat you in a duel, where are you?!"

"Sorry, but you'll be facing me instead!" Leaping down from the bridge above, Junto landed behind Yuji, who turned around to face him.

"Who the hell are you?" With caution Yuji backed away from the crazed lunatic that stood before him.

A devilish grin formed on Junto's face he activated his ebon duel disk, which was shaped like a scythe.

"I'm the Wight Shogun, and for your crimes against the Skull Servants, and to our king, your punishment is death! Come out, my humble beast! Undead Ogre!!!"

Placing a card onto his duel disk, Junto began to become enveloped in a dark violet aura, the energy pulsated throughout the air, hitting Yuji with a sudden feeling of dread. This sensation was familiar, he had felt it during his duel with Kyohei.

From the darkness, a giant armored ogre emerged, Yuji's eyes widened as he recognized the beast. It was the War Ogre he had encountered when he traveled to the Spirit World. However, there was a difference, this ogre's skin was melted and decayed, with a lifeless look in its eyes. It's armor was rusted, as if it had been through erosion for decades. It was undead, and not just in name.

Shaking with fear, Yuji took a step back. "How are you summoning that monster? A duel isn't even in progress!"

"Undead Ogre, kill him! Flatten him to a paste! Decay Demolition!" With a command from its master, the giant lifted its massive club, and swung it down violently towards Yuji, who evaded the impact at the last second. With a loud crash the club broke through the concrete earth, leaving a small crater.

Without hesitation, Yuji made a run for it. Junto has materialized his monster into the physical realm, and was using it to bring forth his demise. He knew that the Skull Servants wanted to beat him in a duel, but he never thought they would go that far. When it came to the heat of a duel, that was the most he could handle, but a problem that couldn't be solved by card games was not. Darting his eyes around as he sprinted, he realized there was no one else in sight, it was just like the day when he lost Pyressor Fighter.

He didn't bother to look back to see if he was being followed, but he knew he could not stay and try to fight. Yuji ran into the shipyard that was located under the bridge, hiding behind one of the nearby crates to catch his breath.

"I need to get out of here, but how?"

Before he collect his thoughts, the ground began to shake as the Ogre's heavy footsteps loomed.

"Come out, come out wherever you are!" Junto taunted as he stood on top the shoulder of his monster. He began to scan the area, searching for where his prey might have decided to hide at.

"Since you don't want to come out, I'll just destroy everything then!"

Yuji gulped as he heard those words. Undead Ogre began to smash its weapon at everything in sight, sending debris flying everywhere. Yuji took further cover as stone began to he hurled in his direction, he knew that if he moved, he would be spotted, there was nowhere to run.

He recalled his time in the Spirit World, on how he defeated the War Ogre. This was perhaps a similar situation, it wasn't a normal duel, but a battle. Maybe he could use his cards and bring them to life like Junto had done. When Kyohei attacked him with Undead Dullahan after their duel, Pyressor Fighter defended him from the onslaught before Seker's intervention. He had to use that power again, but he needed to get in the clear first. Picking up a nearby stone from the ground, he hurled it over the crate in order to catch Junto's attention.

"You fool, you've only done yourself in!" Noticing the rock, and the direction it was thrown from, Junto and his monster walked over to the crate, hitting it with a might blow from the club, smashing the metal frame flat.

As the dust cleared, Junto was that there was no body anywhere to be seen.

"Right behind you!" Yuji activated his duel disk while Undead Orge's back was turned to him. He pulled Pyressor Fighter and placed it onto his duel disk.

"Cursed controller of flames, deliver the rite of vengeance that courses through your veins! Let's burn! Come forth, Pyressor Fighter!"

Nothing happened. Yuji was frozen in shock, he could not fathom why it wasn't working, why he couldn't call on his monster for help. But before he could react, Undead Ogre struck him with its club, sending him flying backwards, crashing through the wall of a nearby warehouse.

"Yes, yes! Your finished for good! No longer shall you get in our way! Glory to the Skull Servants!" Junto laughed as he had succeeded in eliminating Yuji.

Yuji couldn't move, he was injured, many of his bones were fractured and broken, and blood poured from his head as his vision grew dim. This was the end. He would leave the world without fulfilling his dreams, without saying goodbye to his friends, and without learning the mystery surrounding EGRESS and duel monsters.

"It is time, Yuji Nensho. Draw forth your power." A disembodied voice spoke to him within his mind.

"Who...the hell is this?" Yuji responded weakly as he started to close his eyes.

"You will not die here. If you wish to fight, if you have the fire in you to claim vengeance, I will grant you my soul."

"I don't want vengeance...I just wanted to be the best…"

"Then fight, as long as you are alive, there is a way. I've always believed those words you've spoken, now it's time for you to believe in me."

Yuji began to see a vision. It was a humanoid figure that emerged from an eruption of fire. Clad in charred, blackened armor that dimly glimmered like obsidian. It had four wings composed of flames extending from its back. It had several chains laced around its body. The only flesh shown by this monster was the glowing crimson eyes that pierced through the armor that bound it.

"Is that you…Pyressor?"

"Yes. Let your burning blood ignite!"

Yuji began to be surrounded by flames, his wounds began to heal as if he was a phoenix rising from the ashes. Pyressor Fighter's card began to glow as Yuji rose to his feet, and the monster began to materialize, being summoned to the physical world.

Junto's turned around as he begun to leave the shipyard, only to notice a red light shining from the warehouse. A massive fire ball blasted through the wall, racing towards Undead Ogre. The ball crashed into the monster, exploding upon impact. Junto jumped off Undead Ogre at the last moment, watching as his monster fell to the ground.

Junto's eyes widened, he didn't expect Yuji to be able to use the power of his Gate Card, as he was led to believe he was an amateur who still was unaware of its secrets.

"So you've finally decided to come play, huh? Get up my servant, let's finish this peon off!" Undead Ogre rose from the ground as Yuji walked out of the warehouse, with Pyressor hovering behind him. Just like Undead Ogre, it was bigger than a human, being slightly smaller than a two-story building in height.

Yuji was covered in a crimson aura, and as if something primal had awoken in him, he felt as if he knew what he had to do, like it was instinct.

"You're vile, you and the rest of your lackeys think you can do whatever you want without consequences...but you know, long ago sinners used to pay with flames! Attack, Pyressor! Ignite Knuckle!!!"

With a thunderous command, the pyromancer launched itself forward like a rocket, and struck the zombie with an explosive blow. The impact knocked Undead Ogre back, but it was able to brace itself using its club to dig into the ground.

"Is that all you've got?! Retaliate, strike him down! Decay Demolition!!!"

As Junto had ordered, the monster ran towards Pyressor, hitting it with its massive club. Pyressor crashed into the warehouse behind it, causing it to implode, burying it in debris. Yuji felt a pain in his heart as his monster was struck, as if a bit of his life was taken. In that moment, he came back to his senses, and realized what situation he was in. He was still too weak, but as he learned in the spirit world, he could change that.

"Begone! Attack again!" Undead Ogre raised its club into the air, preparing to crush Yuji. This time, he didn't run. Instead he played a trap card onto his duel disk.

"I activate the trap card, Draining Shield!" A force field formed around Yuji, protecting him from the attack, a glow of green energy appeared surrounding Yuji as he felt his vitality increase. Undead Ogre was knocked back by the recoil, making it stumble backwards.

Junto dug his nails into his face. "How is that possible, you can only use spells and traps on your monsters! Not on yourself! This can't be?!"

"I've seen a lot of crazy things today, so I'm glad I was able to give you a little shock. I may not know what kind of twisted duel this is, but from what I see, in your bloodlust you forgot what a duel was! This was nothing but senseless violence, and for that...you'll pay the penalty! I use the equip spell, Mage Power on Pyressor!"

With a burst of flames, Pyressor Fighter arose from the earth, covered in inferno like the sun itself. Junto scrambled through his deck, trying to find a card that could counter what was about to happen. He was so focused on eliminating Yuji, that he forgot a War Duel required the same tactics as a normal one. He failed to support his monster.

"It's too late for you! Let's burn! Get em', Ignite Knuckle!!!" Pyressor dived towards Undead Ogre, hitting it with a fist of combustion, getting caught in the explosion, Junto screamed as his monster was disintegrated, and fell to his knees in despair.

With his opponent defeated, Pyressor transformed into light, and returned back into its card. Junto scrambled to his feet, and quickly started to flee the scene.

"Next time, I'll challenge you to a real duel...and you won't get away, you hear me?!"

"I'm counting on it." Yuji muttered to himself as he stared at Pyressor's card in his hand. All doubt was gone, Duel Monsters were sentient beings.

"Thanks a lot, Pyressor."

"It was no problem, partner." The monster responded as a disembodied voice, one that only Yuji could hear. He could tell this was the beginning of learning of an even greater mystery.

Night fell, Junto stumbled into the hideout of the Skull Servant Gang, as the other members awaited him. He fell to the ground in exhaustion, as the duel consumed his strength.

"I failed, and I failed you...our king…" Junto whimpered, speaking to himself. The other members lowered their heads, their morale was diminishing.

"You did fail me, but all of you are guilty of that."

Junto, Blud, Plaz and Bone Breaker all were alerted by the sound of that familiar voice. As the man stepped through the entrance of the room, there was no mistake.

"Rise up, goons! The Skull King has returned! Kyohei Kudo is back!"


End file.
